The Captain's Girl
by FantasyStar57
Summary: This is a story about the relationship between Jim Kirk and Alex Pike, and all the adventures they get themselves into. Jim/OC Rated T to be safe.
1. The Damsel and the Knight: Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Trek or any of it's characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit. Alex is mine though.

**A/N:** This is my first story, so go easy on me. :D But all reviews are welcome, I don't mind constructive criticism.

Also, Alex is my OC, and just to give you a bit of info about her, she's Christopher Pike's daughter, and about 2 years younger than Jim. Her mom died when she was younger, and was Jonathan Archer's sister, so that makes Alex his niece.

**Summary: **This is a story about the relationship between Jim Kirk and Alex Pike, and all the adventures they get themselves into. Jim/OC

It starts off on Tarsus IV.

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The stars were flashing by so quickly that they were lines instead of dots. She smiled excitedly, and pressed her face up against the viewport. Twelve year old Alex Pike absolutely loved starships. It made sense really; she'd been born on one and was practically raised by the crew. It was only in the last five years or so that her father had relocated to Earth and she had to stay planet side while he left on short missions. That's why she was so excited now, it had been way too long since she'd seen the stars like this. She knew she was lucky, most children of Starfleet officers were left with aunts and uncles, but her father's situation was a special one. They didn't have any other close family outside of Starfleet, and her father had refused to choose between her and Starfleet. Of course, it helped that her uncle was Admiral Archer.

She frowned suddenly, remembering the reason she was again tagging along on a mission with the crew of the _Apollo_. Tarsus IV had come under crisis, and many had died. Given the chaotic situation, and the trauma any survivors had gone through, Starfleet had called for volunteers to help with the rescue effort. Her father had told her that due to the amount of injured children involved, they needed young teenagers like her to help bridge the gap between adult and child. She was there to help build a trust with the children of Tarsus IV. She took her job very seriously, because even at 12, she knew the severity of the situation. Her father made sure she knew exactly what she was getting into. She glanced up as the door to her room swished open, the frown prominent on her features.

Her father stepped in, wearing the golden outfit of a Starfleet helmsman. She loved the color, and part of her wanted to wear that uniform one day. There was another part of her that didn't want to follow in her father's footsteps; instead she wanted to make her own path. Her father always told her she could do absolutely anything she wanted, and she certainly didn't need to decide right now.

"Honey, what's wrong?" He looked concerned, and she realized she was still holding the worried look on her face. She stood and smoothed her knee length dress. It was a deep grey, with a shadow of a Starfleet emblem above her heart. The outfit style civilians wore when aboard a Starfleet vessel.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about Tarsus IV. " She glanced down, avoiding eye contact. It wasn't like her to act so shy; she always wanted to be strong for her father.

"Don't apologize Alex, it's normal to be confused and worried. It's going to be hard for everyone." He knelt in front of her, so he could look up into her eyes. She was fairly tall for 12, so it wasn't hard for him. "Are you sure you still want to do this? You don't have too."

She didn't hesitate. "I'm 100% sure." There was a fierceness in her voice, a passion that made her dad smile.

"That's my girl!" He grabbed her in quick hug. Christopher Pike may be a Starfleet officer through and through, but he was a father first, and he always found a way to let Alex know that.

"All right kiddo, you should try to get some sleep." Her dad released her and stood up, offering her a hand. "We arrive in four hours, and it's gonna be a long first day."

(ST)(ST)(ST)(ST)(ST)

She stepped of the shuttle ramp into the open air of Tarsus IV. She was surprised, she had expected to see a war torn planet with smoke and devastation. Tarsus IV wasn't like that at all. The trees were still green, the grass still remained, and the sky was still clear enough to show the setting twin moons. There was no smoke, or any visual indication that anything was even wrong here. But something was most definitely wrong. The first thing that hit her was the smell. It didn't smell like a summer morning like back on Earth. It had an undertone that smelled like her Uncle's compost pile, like something was rotting and no one was covering it up. She wrinkled her nose slightly, already adjusting to the odd smell, leaving behind nothing out of the ordinary.

The world around her felt wrong. Like something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what. It sent a shiver up her spine, and she stopped walking, looking around the camp in front of her with wide eyes. Several building had been erected, and people in various Starfleet uniforms were moving around between them. She was able to see several doctors and nurses, as well as civilians and security personnel. She was momentarily confused, why were they in a camp? Alex had seen pictures of Tarsus IV, and there were several cities and towns. Why weren't they set up in a hospital where they could help people?

It was at that moment that she felt a gently hand on her shoulder, and she turned slightly, meeting her father's eyes. He looked momentarily confused as he adjusted the same way she had.

"Why aren't we at a hospital?" She asked quietly, using the word 'we' freely. She was pretty sure volunteering made her a part of the Starfleet, even if only temporarily. Her father glanced up grimly, before looking at her again.

"The cities aren't safe right now. Nowhere is, not with Kodos's men everywhere. This is the safest location where we can maintain security and help the survivors." She nodded; it did make sense when she thought about it. Her dad wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the building in the middle of the 'camp'. "Now remember, you're the first child they are allowing to help." She clamped down the 'I know Dad' response that threatened to pop out of her mouth, as well as the indignation of being called a child. "So just be on your best behaviour and be nice to the kids. They might not be as nice to you, but just remember what they've been through, ok?" She nodded again because they'd already gone over this on the ship. Three times.

A raven haired woman approached them, smiling slightly. Alex could tell it was forced; it was the same smile her Uncle had when he was talking to someone he didn't really like. "You must be Alex," The woman said warmly. "I'm sorry to just jump right into this, but we've just found a little girl and she's not interacting with us at all. We're hoping you might have more luck." Her dad squeezed her shoulder, and whispered a good luck in her ear before disappearing into one of the other buildings.

Alex smiled genuinely at the woman and followed her to a building on the far side of the camp. Along the way she leaned the woman's name was Jamie, and she'd be the one looking after Alex. Jamie seemed like a nice woman, but Alex was quick to notice the shadows under her eyes and then slight hollowness in her tone. Upon entering the building, Alex realized this was the case for most of the volunteers. It scared her a bit, but like any kid her age, she ignored it. She wasn't the type to run away scared, and she was pretty sure she hadn't seen anything yet.

Jamie left her in a room with a little girl who looked about 6 years old. She was huddled in a corner with her head bent, her dark brown hair forming a curtain that masked her face.

"Hi there, my name's Alex, what's yours?" The little girl's head tilted up slightly, allowing Alex to catch a glimpse of big brown eyes. Other than that, the girl said nothing. Given the girls reaction to her, and knowing that Jamie had said they couldn't even get her to move, Alex guessed the little girl had reacted to her younger voice. Smiling slightly, she decided to play this like a kid would, as a game.

"Hmmm… I'm not sure that I like that name. How's about I call you Aries? That's the name of my Uncle's new dog! But wait, he's a boy dog, so that doesn't work." The little girl again perked her head slightly, this time keeping her eyes visible as she peered at Alex with distrust and fear. "How about Lilypad? I mean, I know you aren't green, and you aren't a frog, but Lilypad's are pretty and you're pretty so that could work." The girl's eyebrows crinkled slightly, and some of the fear left her face and was replaced by curiosity.

"But maybe not… listen, I could do this all day, and I will if you want, but it's probably just easier if you told me. Cause then we could move onto to better things, like dessert." She held out a bottle of water and an apple. "I know, I know, apples aren't dessert food, but I happen to love apples. And I think that dessert just have to be something you like. So, what do ya say? Name in exchange for yumminess?"

The girl still looked suspicious, but she was staring at the apple and water like they were the most amazing thing she'd ever seen. "Look kid, I-" She stopped, the little girls eyes hide widened to the size of tea saucers. "What?"

"JT calls us that," her voice was tiny and weak, and she sounded almost surprised that she had spoken. She couldn't have been more surprised then Alex herself. She hadn't even started to tell the girl that she could trust her and wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"JT?"

The girl looked upset, and didn't reply. Alex sighed inwardly. Almost there. At least now she knew the child understood her. For all she knew she could be talking to a kid didn't speak the same language.

"Listen sweetie, you can trust me ok? I won't let anything happen to you, and I'm not an adult so you really can trust me. I didn't have anything to do with what happened to you, and all I want to do is help. Really."

"But you're Starfleet," she said softly, but with a touch of disdain in her voice. Alex was surprised a child could feel disdain, but then after everything she knew they had been through, it wasn't really that surprising. Alex considered her answer carefully.

"I'm not _actually _Starfleet." The girl eyed her dress and the Starfleet emblem clearly adorned on it. "My dad works for Starfleet, and he asked if I wanted to help. I'm too young to be a member anyways. And not all of Starfleet is bad; some of them are kinda cool." She didn't bother to try and convince the girl that Starfleet was here to help and give her the standard mantra. She understood that to this child, any adult couldn't be trusted anymore. What was the difference between Kodos' men kidnapping her and Starfleet taking her?

The girl studied her for a moment, and Alex saw it in her eyes the moment she deemed her worthy. That was when the girl leapt up and burrowed herself into Alex. Instantly Alex wrapped her arms around the girl and held her as tightly as she could. After a moment the girl started talking, and Alex had to struggle to keep up.

"My name is Sadie! I'm 6 and a half. And JT is my hero. He rescued us, all of us! And he takes care of us, and feeds us. I didn't mean to get caught, I was just looking for him cause he left for a while. Then Starfleet came, and I was so scared. But now you're here, and it's ok cause you called me kid. And-"

"Woah kid, slow down! How about we start on this dessert I promised?" Sadie eagerly grabbed the water and apple, and Alex cautioned her to go slow. Then they sat together on the floor of the little hospital room until Sadie fell asleep. Alex glanced up as the door open and Jamie stepped in. She was smiling, but this time wasn't forced at all.

"Great job! I was listening to the whole thing. You were perfect."

"Thanks!" Alex helped Jamie manoeuvre the child into the bed. "I should be here when she wakes up."

Jamie nodded in agreement. "How about you head over to the mess and grab a bite to eat first? And you should mention to your dad what she said about this JT person. The mess is third building on the left if you head straight back the way you came."

Alex headed outside, and was about to comply with Jamie's instructions when she saw a flash of something in the trees outside the camp perimeter. She knew she really shouldn't check it out on her own, but she couldn't help herself. She started to walk towards the trees, and got within five feet of them when someone yelled at her.

"Hey kid! You shouldn't be this far from camp," A man in a red shirt approached her, carrying a phasor in one hand and shaking a finger at her with another.

"I'm sorry I was just-" Before she couldn't finish her sentence a blade came whistling out of the trees and struck the man in the chest. He let out a gasp of pain before falling to his knees. Alex stared in horror as the man fell to the ground, and didn't move again. His eyes were open, and she knew he was dead.

Suddenly a hand wrapped around her mouth, holding some kind of a cloth over her nose and mouth. She tried to scream, but it was useless. He dragged her into the trees, and her whole world started to go black. Her last thoughts were of her dad and how he worried he was going to be, and that the person carrying smelled just like rotting compost.

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So, what do you think?


	2. The Damsel and the Knight: Part 2

**Disclaimer: **_Again, I don't own Star Trek or any of it's characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing the, but Alex is my creation._

**A/N: **_Thanks for the reviews you guys! It means a lot that you like my story. :D Here's the next chapter, and I've got a lot more planned so just bear with me. _

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When Alex woke up, she was lying on ground, her cheek pressed up against cold dirt. She was momentarily confused by her surroundings. She tried to sit up, and was even more confused that she couldn't move her hands. The events of the day came back to her in a flash, and she let out an involuntary gasp of horror. A man was dead, she'd been kidnapped, and she was in big trouble. She tried to move again and realized her hands were tied behind her back. She manoeuvred her body into a sitting position and looked around.

A group of 3 men sat near her, grunting about something she couldn't quite make out. She looked around, her mind instantly turning to escape. They were in a small clearing, and the sun was barely visible on the horizon. The near dusk environment made it hard for her to see anything all that clearly, but she was able to see a path on the other side of the men. She was also able to make out several weapons on her kidnappers, most of which were just sharp objects, but she could see at least one phasor. She was about to attempt standing up when one of the men focused on her.

"HEY YOU!" She froze, staring in fear. "Don't you dare think of moving, you hear me?"

Even if she was thinking of going somewhere, it really wasn't going to happen. She couldn't move an inch; sheer terror was holding her in place. Later she would hate herself for this inability to act, but at the moment she couldn't think or feel anything.

"I said, DID YOU HEAR ME?" He made a move to stand up and approach her. She nodded quickly, _please don't come near me, please please please._ He looked satisfied, and went back to talking with the others. She sat back while attempting to breathe normally again.

She had no idea what she was going to do. Her dad would be looking for her surely, but would he find her? She knew what it meant to be in the hands of these men. She'd be used for ransom, seeing as they hadn't killed her yet. Even though no one had heard from Kodos since Starfleet had arrived, his men were still active. Whether it was independently or not was still to be determined.

A sound came from the bush at the opposite side of the men from her. It was a loud crash, and all three men jumped up at once.

"What was that?" One grunted, uneasiness creeping into his voice. Another crash came, and two of them stepped forward.

"Come on; you stay here," The one who yelled at her took the lead, leaving the smallest of the three behind. He glanced back at her, before turning his eyes back to where his companions had gone. Yet another crash echoed through the forest, and she couldn't figure out what it was either. It didn't sound like any sound the natural vegetation could make. Suddenly a hand wrapped around her mouth, and someone pulled her up off the ground to a standing position. She didn't try to scream, the logical portion of her brain said whoever this was could be no worse than her current company.

Her new 'friend' pulled her into the forest silently, and let go of her mouth while whispering hoarsely, "Don't scream. Just run." She felt hands grip hers briefly, and realized the boy, if his voice was any indication, was cutting her hands free. The second she could pull her hands loose she took off running. The boy easily took the lead, dodging through trees and leading her away from the men whose voices were echoing through the forest behind her. She glanced back, which was a mistake. She tripped, and almost went spiralling towards the ground, but her rescuer caught her arm.

"Don't stop," he ordered tersely. Instead of replying, she focused entirely on running. Amazingly, the voices behind them started to fade. The boy was leading her with such confidence; she could only assume the men were not as familiar with the woods as he was. After a while, he slowed to a stop and looked around. She was about to speak when he put a finger to his lips and surveyed their surroundings.

Trusting him to observe everything, she took the chance to catch her breath and observe him instead. She realized she hadn't even had a chance to look into his eyes, and she was already trusting him to protect her.

He was about her height, which put him a little under five and a half feet. He looked to be around her age, possibly a year or two older. He had clothes that were torn and dirty, and his boots looked like they were on the edge of falling apart. His face was dirty as well, smudged with black that she associated with coals from a fire. He had blond hair, which was fairly short, but long enough that it twisted and curled in places. He looked painfully thin and his entire appearance screamed that he'd been living outside on next to no food for weeks. That meant he'd been out here since the start of Kodos' devastation. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he'd been through.

"K, the coast seems clear. You good?" Alex was so lost in thought she almost jumped at the sound of his voice. She looked up to see him staring at her, and she had to suppress a gasp. His eyes were crystal blue, filled with such passion and energy that they were a great contrast to the rest of him.

She realized he was still staring at her. Right, he'd asked a question. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Fine," he replied shortly, before turning and walking away.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Was she supposed to follow him? He stopped, and turned around half way so she was looking at his profile.

"Away. You're fine, so I've done my job."

"What? You can't just leave me here!" She felt panic rising in her. It was almost completely dark now, and though the moon provided more than enough light to go by, she had no idea where she was. She'd been kidnapped in the morning, which meant she could be miles away from the Starfleet camp by now. Had she misjudged him? Would he really just leave after all that?

"You're Starfleet." He turned and started walking again, as if that was all the explanation needed.

She blew out an exasperated breathe, _really, again?_ That sparked an idea in her, as well as a realization that pained her. Sadie was going to wake up and she wouldn't be there. Any trust she'd built with the little girl was out the window. She shook her head vigorously; she couldn't dwell on that now.

She took a shot in the dark. "JT!" He froze, and she almost grinned despite the situation.

"How do you know that name?" He growled, without turning around. He had just saved her life, so even though she was a complete stranger, she wasn't afraid of his sudden show of aggression. She had to hope it was a defensive response.

She hesitated for a moment as she tried to pick her words carefully. On one hand, Sadie had been taken without question. If he was the one who had been taking care of her, which she was almost entirely certain he was, he had every right to be pissed. Pissed enough to leave her tied to a tree and never look back. On the other hand, if he showed her even a tenth of the trust she was willing to give him, he would learn that Sadie was safe and that perhaps the other children she had mentioned could be too. That would probably take a fair amount of convincing, but he seemed like a reasonable boy. He had saved her life after all. If only she was dealing with a Vulcan, this would be one hundred times easier, but maybe he'd come around. She had to risk it, because if she didn't she'd lose anyways.

"I met a little girl named Sadie this morning," she started quietly, forcing him to step closer and inwardly she felt her heart speed up in anticipation. At least he was listening. "She mentioned someone named JT, and I'm really hoping that's you."

He reacted with more anger then she'd been anticipating, but he didn't bridge the gap between them so she felt safe at least for the moment. "What did you do to her?" There was such accusation in his tone that she was left confused. What had she done? What makes him think she'd done anything? Then it clicked. He had hoped Sadie would keep quiet, and the only way she would talk is if she was forced.

"Nothing, we just talked. She was very shy at first, and she wouldn't talk to any adults. She only mentioned you name after she decided she liked me. She was really scared and I just wanted to help her." She thought she caught a flash of pride pass over his features, but it was gone almost instantly, replaced by distrust.

"I don't believe you." He spat out. "You're helping them round us up, and I have to protect them." He turned to storm away, but she sensed she hadn't pushed him to the limit quite yet, so she went after him. She grabbed him by the arm and spun him around, deciding to fight fire with fire.

"Look, I need you to understand something before you completely make up your mind about me." She paused, because his fists were clenched, and despite his skinny form, she could feel his strength through her hold on his arm. She had to remind herself she wasn't a weakling either, and that if push came to shove she could hold her own in a fight. She had been training since she was six years old, because unlike many other girls her age she was much more interested in martial arts than dancing.

He didn't move to attack her though, so she continued. "I don't know what you've been through; I can't even begin to understand any of it. But I'm not here to make it worse. I truly just want to help you. Yes, I came here with Starfleet, but I'm not Starfleet. I was raised to think for myself and help others whenever I could. So this is just me, just trying to help. You can leave me here if you want to, but I think we'd both be better off if I came with you." She took a deep breath and waited.

His face was emotionless as he considered her words, but his eyes told a different story. He looked torn, and she could only guess he was struggling to overcome his deep rooted thoughts that no one was there to actually _help_ him.

"Fine." He looked almost pained. "You can come with me, but if you slip up once, if you put anyone in danger, if you do _anything_ that I don't like, you'll regret it." He was dead serious, but at this point she expected nothing less. He was going to be a tough person to befriend.

"I won't." He shook his head, as though unhappy about his decision and started walking again. She followed without another word, not wanting to push her luck.

She was surprised when he spoke again. "What do people call you?" He sounded almost defeated, and she grinned. Stubbornness paid off sometimes. Then she caught the strange wording he used, and the grin faded. There seemed to be a hidden meaning, almost a warning in his question. _Of course!_ Kodos had made lists of all the colonists, one for who would live and one for who would die. That made your name sacred, and it shouldn't be something you gave away lightly.

"Ally," she responded, and she thought she saw him smirk slightly, but it was pretty dark. "So... where are we going?"

"It's too dangerous to try and take you back to your people. There are men everywhere." He didn't continue, and she sighed quietly. She hadn't really thought she could just go home, but she really did want to get back to her dad.

"So...?"

"So, we're going to meet the rest of the gang."

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_So, do you still like it? _


	3. The Damsel and the Knight: Part 3

**Disclaimer: **_Again, I don't own Star Trek or any of it's characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing the, but Alex is my creation._

**A/N: **_ Sorry for taking so long to update! School has been crazy, and it took me a while to get this out of my head. I've always had a hard time concluding something. So this is the end of the first 'act' of this story. Please let me know what you think. __ It's a little longer this time around._

_I finally decided on a name for this, The Damsel and the Knight._

_Stay tuned for the next part, tentatively named: Two Cadets and an Academy_

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They walked for what felt like hours in silence. She knew it wasn't really that long, but it stretched on and on. She was itching to learn more about him, and more about the 'gang' they were going to meet. How did they live? What did they eat? How did they avoid detection? Why had he decided to save her? But she walked along without voicing her curiosity, because she didn't want to push him away.

He kept one step ahead of her the whole way, which made sense seeing as he knew where they were going. What bothered her is he didn't glance back once the entire way. So either he was aware she was following him closely, or he just didn't care. She really hoped it was the former.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize he'd stopped, and she bumped into him. He didn't comment, staying silent but motioning for her to be quiet and follow him slowly. There were plenty of trees around their current location, and for the most part the pale light from the moon did not even reach the ground. Again, she put her trust in him and followed silently. He led her to the mouth of a cave, hidden almost completely by the underbrush. The cave's mouth opened to a path that led downwards at a relatively steep angle. How had he found such a place? As they continued downwards, a soft light began to emanate from the darkness ahead.

They continued walking until they reached a cavern. Warmth enveloped her, and the first thing she noticed was in the middle of the open area. A portable heater had been set up, along with a light source, both of which were small enough they didn't require much power from the portable generator they were attached to. It was a simple yet effective set up. She looked around, and put a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. She counted 14 children, whose ages ranged from a toddler to a teenager much like herself. There were 8 boys and 6 girls, and they were all sleeping except one. A boy who looked to be about her age stood and traded grips with JT before staring suspiciously at her. JT murmured something, and though the distrusting look did not leave the boys face, he nodded and sat back down to watch the entrance. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at JT in confusion. They made eye contact again and she couldn't stop the shiver that went up her spine. His gaze was so intent, it took everything she had to not look away. He was assessing her yet again, and she hoped she would pass his test.

He motioned to a blanket in the corner, and whispered, "I'll introduce you to everyone in the morning." She merely nodded, not trusting she could keep her voice low enough to avoid waking anyone. She reached the blanket, and was pleasantly surprised that this corner of the cave was warm like everywhere else. She had been afraid he would send her to the coldest place to sleep.

Despite the fact that she had been unconscious for the majority of the day, she fell asleep the moment she laid down.

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She woke again to the sound of someone talking. It took her mind a second to connect the voice to JT. She didn't move, instead pretending to still be asleep.

"So yes, she came with Starfleet. But she's a kid just like us so we can trust her, ok? Will you guys just make her feel welcome?" She would have smiled, but she didn't know if anyone was watching her. As if JT was giving them the trust speech just like she had given him. Did that mean he'd decided she was trustworthy? Or just that he wanted the rest of the kids to think so, because the burden of keeping her around fell on him?

"Does she know any stories?" The smallest voice she'd ever heard asked. Her heart broke instantly. Someone that young and terrified had been through the horror of Tarsus IV?

"I dunno Kev, you'll have to ask her when she gets up," JT answered the boy in a soft voice. Not condescending or rude, just a simple calm voice like he was talking to someone his own age. The more puzzle pieces she gathered about JT, the more she liked him. He seemed to be a natural leader, and he actually cared about these kids.

"I know a few stories." Alex said, sitting up. Fifteen faces turned to stare at her as she rose. She didn't flinch or back down from the stares. "But first, how about I get to know everybody, seeing as you all know who I am?"

She made eye contact with JT, whose face was a neutral mask. She took that as a positive and started to make her way around to each child, getting their names and memorizing their faces. The one she took too immediately was the littlest boy, Kevin. He was the most innocent creature she'd ever seen, and he looked at her like she was a lifeline. He must have been missing his mother terribly, because he attached himself to her and didn't leave her side for the rest of the morning. She didn't mind at all, because at least she could give one little boy comfort despite all the darkness this planet had offered him.

She spent the morning learning how they had been living for the past three weeks. It was downright frightening, but at the same time absolutely amazing. For food they had been scouring the buildings of a nearby town. Avoiding capture was difficult, and they had lost a few of their group. At this point in the discussion, JT had scowled and left the cave to keep watch. Alex felt terrible for him, knowing he blamed himself for all of it.

For lunch they ate fruit and bread in extremely small portions. It was getting harder and harder for the kids to find food, as Kodos' men were becoming wise to their tactics. It was at this point she knew they wouldn't be able to last much longer out here, and she was going to have to do something. She'd have to convince JT that Starfleet was their salvation, not their destruction. But she already knew how darn stubborn the boy was, so she decided to leave it a day or two. If she could become a member of the group, maybe she could make JT understand.

So she spent the next three days becoming the mother hen of the group. She helped them prepare meals, kept the fire going, told stories, tucked the little ones in at night, fixed up clothes the best she could. Anything to help in any way she could. By the end of the first day she realized she wasn't doing it to gain JT's trust. She genuinely wanted to help them, and the best way right now was to help them survive.

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She was exhausted. How had JT, or any of the children, done this for three weeks? It was a miracle by any standard.

She glanced down at the little boy curled in her lap. He was so small, and so innocent. She hugged him closer, ensuring he was warm and comfortable. It tore at her soul to think anyone could hurt such a wonderful child. Before he'd fallen asleep, he'd looked at her with big brown eyes and asked if it was ok that he was on her. She'd barely held back the tears, but she managed to smile and assure him it was fine. Now Kevin was resting soundly, like most of the other 15 children in the damp cave. Except JT. He was standing near the entrance, obviously keeping watch. She couldn't help but be entranced by him. It was the fourth day since she'd been kidnapped by Kodos' men. The third day since she'd been rescued by a scrawny, blond haired boy. The third day since she'd looked into those crystal blue eyes and known she'd be safe, because he would never let anything happen to her without giving his own life first, even though he didn't trust her at all. It wasn't until he'd led her back to this cave, with 14 tiny children inside, that she realized she would do the exact same for him. She had never felt this way about someone before, not even her father. That was what kept her so spellbound by the boy.

"JT," she called out softly. He turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder, body tensed and ready. She waved at him to come to her, and with one last look outside, he obliged her. He approached her wearily, movements that indicated he really should be on watch and not talking to her. She motioned for him to sit down, and despite the look on his face he did.

"Here," she whispered, and handed him a piece of bread that she had saved. Yes, she was hungry, and the bread looked delicious, but she hadn't failed to notice that he didn't eat again tonight. The children had been living on rations for over a 3 weeks, she'd only been doing it for 3 days. She could live without one meal if he could. He shook his head, and moved to get up. She grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her.

"Eat it, or I will start screaming." Her voice was quiet, but lined with steel. She wasn't fooling around. She had just spent half an hour getting them all to sleep, and she was totally willing to ruin it. He glared at her, and even though they had only spent a short time together, he knew better then to argue. He ate it slowly, chewing thoughtfully. She settled back, content that her mission was complete. She was just about to drift off when he spoke.

"Thank you." Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at him, surprised. The cave was dark enough that she couldn't see him blush. "Not just for this, but for everything. You trusted me, so thank you." He finished quickly and stood up, moving quickly back to the entrance. She smiled despite everything. She couldn't quite comprehend why, but it meant the world to her that he noticed.

She fell asleep with a smile on her face, maybe she was making progress with him after all.

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The next morning she woke up to a gentle shaking of her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see JT's blue one right in front of her. She would have jumped if not for the presence of mind that Kevin was still sound asleep in her lap.

"What?" She tried not to sound annoyed, and was quiet proud that only a small amount seeped into her voice.

"We're low on food," he said simply.

"I know, but there's not much we can do right? You said it yourself it's not safe out there anymore." She didn't want to point out the obvious, because she knew he was well aware of their predicament.

"That's why I'm gonna go. Just me. I need to you look after everyone, and if I don't come back, you should try and contact your people."

"What are you talking about?" She whispered, alarmed.

"I'm saying that if something happens to me, everyone's best bet for survival is you. As long as I can keep the food coming, we can stay here for a while. But if I can't..." He trailed off, giving her a look. She was pretty sure she understood his silent meaning. He was too damn stubborn to accept Starfleet's help. But he couldn't be selfish with the lives of his kids.

"I'm going with you," she stated firmly.

"Uh... no. You're not," he replied evenly.

"Yes I am. You don't have to do this on your own. Tom can look after everyone. We can watch each other's backs. And don't bother to argue with me, we both know it won't do any good." Alex was tempted to glare at him for good measure, but she refrained from doing so. It wasn't going to solve anything.

They stared at each other for another few moments before he sighed in exasperation. "Fine, but we should leave now. I'll go talk to Tom." He didn't exactly storm away, but his stride indicated that he wasn't happy. She couldn't help but grin. Once they got back from this little trip, she was pretty sure she'd be able to convince him that Starfleet was their best, if not only, option. Then maybe they could just be normal kids and hang out.

She gently shifted Kevin so she could scoot out from under him. He mumbled something and started to move, but she shushed him gently, and waited the extra moments until he fell back asleep. Then she followed JT out of the cave.

It was early morning, and there was barely enough light to see by. JT led her away from the cave and towards what she knew to be a small town. It was abandoned now of course, but that made it all the better for stealing from.

They crept along for over twenty minutes, JT constantly signalling to halt and listen. He wasn't taking any chances, which she didn't mind. After her last encounter with evil men, she knew extra precaution was a necessity.

She was starting to think they'd make it to the town without incident when everything went wrong. The sound of a cracking twig caused Alex and JT to freeze in place. The next second, JT was pushing her to the ground. For an instant she thought she heard something whistling in the air, and then she heard a wet sounding thump. She'd never heard a sound quite like it, and it turned her blood to ice.

She looked up at JT in horror. A large knife was protruding from his left shoulder and he listed to the side, falling to one knee. He looked at the knife and then at her, and it wasn't fear or pain that she saw in his eyes. It was anger and defiance.

Adrenaline kicked in just as three men came out of the underbrush and approached them. They each had a phasor in hand, and she couldn't stop her sharp intake of breath as she realized they were her original kidnappers.

"Well whatta we have here boys?" The leader asked. Alex was disgusted by the amount of amusement in his voice. "I'd say we found our little lady and her saviour. We were worried about you darlin'. Look how small they are, I don't even think we'll need these." His voice was anything but sincere as he put his phasor in his holster, and she shuddered involuntarily.

She heard Jim grunt beside her, and she glanced at him. If possible he looked even angrier, and he moved to pull the blade out of his shoulder.

"JT don't!" But her words went unheeded as he removed the offending item and gripped it tightly. Now he was armed, and the look he was giving the three men was enough to send most people running. They didn't run, but they sure looked a little less confident.

"All right boy, just put that down and no one gets hurt." The leader approached JT while the other two kept their distance.

"I don't think so. I'm banking on someone getting hurt." JT's voice had a feral undertone to it, and all she could do was watch as the events unfolded. When the man got within striking JT flew at him. He swung the knife and caught the man near his neck, ripping open a wound from his shoulder to his chest. The man screamed in pain and anger. JT was already moving, heading for the other two men. They looked shocked for a moment, and that was all JT seemed to need. He hit the first one hard in the stomach, and stabbed the other in the leg.

Then his luck ended. He couldn't get the knife out of the man's leg in time to block the others attack. He was punched in the jaw with vicious force, and he stumbled backwards. That was when the second man pulled his own blade and swung at JT's stomach. The knife bit deep, and blood began to appear instantly. The only man who wasn't bleeding yet grabbed him and threw him against a nearby tree. JT hit it hard, and fell to the ground unmoving.

"NO!" She screamed, regaining control of her limbs and starting to run towards him. The leader grabbed her leg, effectively stopping her by forcing her to the ground.

"Oh no little lady. It's over, time for some fun." He voice was slightly hardened from pain, and he held one hand against his bleeding wound. Without even thinking she kicked at him, catching him square in his wounded shoulder. He howled in pain and stumbled back. She grabbed his phasor and aimed it at him.

"BACK OFF!" She screamed. "OR I'LL KILL HIM!" And she meant it. She was completely overcome with rage. They had just killed JT, and she didn't care about what was right and wrong. Vengeance poured through her body, and she checked the phasor was set to kill and not stun, making it obvious she was doing so.

The other two men stared at her, surprised. Probably by the fact that a 12 year old was threatening a man with death. Or it could be that her voice was pure steal, and she left no room for doubt.

"All right kid!" They both backed away, and she took a second to look over at JT. He still hadn't moved, and this cemented her belief that he was dead. Tears filled her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.

"All right girl, you've got me, now what're you gonna do?" The man beneath her gun asked quietly. "You really aren't going to kill me, are you?"

"Don't give me another reason." She said through gritted teeth. Her rage was lessening, and with that rational though entered her mind. What was she doing? This wasn't what her father taught her to be. Her hand quivered slightly, and she reached with one finger to switch the weapon back to stun.

That was when the men moved on her. She reacted instantly, planting a foot on the leaders wound again, and spinning to fire on the two men. She had enough time and distance to hit them both, and they fell to the ground unconscious. She turned back to the man beneath her, eyes burning with intensity.

He just stared at her, obviously coming to the realization that he had underestimated her.

She smiled, but it was out of cold as ice. "My father is a Starfleet officer. I know how to handle a phasor." And then she pulled the trigger for the third time and all that was left was silence and her own harsh breathing.

That was the moment Starfleet officer chose to make their ill-timed entrance. Five men came into view, all dressed in red except one who wore the gold. They were greeted by a disturbing sight. A boy lay at the bottom of a tree, drenched in blood. A girl stood over three men, a weapon grasped firmly in her hand. The men were all wounded, and out cold.

Alex turned to the men, and felt relief rush over her like a tidal wave. She swayed on her feet for a second, before rushing the lead man in gold. Her father met her half way.

"Oh thank God," he dad cried as he wrapped her in his arms. She clung to him tightly, wanting to cry her eyes out, but fighting the feeling, because tears just didn't seem like the enough. He gripped her just as tightly, lifting her off the ground. The four men accompanying him watched, expressions of relief clear on their faces.

He set her down so he could look into her eyes. For an instant she could see he was taken aback but what he found there, but it was quickly replaced with concern. "Are you all right?" He voice was calm and soothing, but she didn't really hear it. For a moment she had forgotten JT, and she felt her chest tighten as she remembered. She tore herself from her father's grasp and ran to the fallen boy.

"Oh JT, I'm so sorry," she whispered as she knelt next to his body. He was facing away from her, and she reached out a trembling hand to turn him towards her. She wanted to see his face on last time, to remember every detail of the boy who had changed everything for her. She gently pulled at his shoulder, expecting to see the worst.

Instead she was met with half open eyes and a groan that made her heart stop. "JT!" He was alive. Barely, she noted from his ragged breathing and ghostly features. His eyes met hers for a second, and he looked relieved. He tried to speak, but instead his eyes rolled back and he seemed to slump even further into the ground.

"Help! Dad he's still alive! Help him!" She screamed over her shoulder. Then men, who had been previously standing back to give her space, rushed forwards. She was pulled away from the boy by strong arms, and she was pulled up against her father's chest. She reached up and gripped his arms, trying to find some sort of comfort in this terrible situation.

Three of the red shirts began attempting to stop the bleeding and trying to keep JT stable. The other had begun to secure the three men.

"He saved my life dad, please don't let him die," she whispered a plea, knowing it was out of her father's hands, but still praying that he could fix everything.

"Johnson, get that amplifier up and running. We need to get a signal up to the ship through this dense forest. He needs immediate medical." One of the men nodded, and working quickly. Minutes passed in an instant as she stared at JT, _please be ok_.

"They've got us sir. Five to beam up?" Johnson questioned.

"Yes, you and Alder stay here and guard these men. I'll contact you soon with-"

"Wait!" she interrupted, realizing he meant for her to leave as well. As much as she needed to go with JT, there was something more important she had to do.

Her father looked at her as she pulled away again to face him. She answered his questioning look. "There are 14 children in a cave about 30 minutes from here, and they need our help."

Both men's eyes widened, and a moment passed before they jumped into action.

"Get those three beamed up right now, and get reinforcements down here. Make sure they bring amplified locators so we can get out of this forest again. Make sure they know we've found more survivors." Pike ordered. "Alex, are you sure you can lead us back?" He question held an underlying meaning, _are you sure you're up for this after what just happened?_

She nodded fiercely. "I made a promise."

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She sat in a private room on the Starfleet vessel _Hygeia_, a ship almost entirely made up of medical bays. The ship had arrived the about twelve hours after she had led Starfleet to the small cave. It had taken a lot of convincing, but she had been able to lead the children out and to the Starfleet camp. They had trusted her, and they were all disheartened to hear JT had been hurt. She'd made many promises to the kids, about how they'd be safe, how they'd stay together, how they'd get to see JT again. She could only hope that Starfleet would prove her right, and reward her for her faith in their morals.

She sighed quietly, again looking up at the pale body on the bed in front of her. JT lay unconscious; he hadn't woken up since their last moment together on Tarsus IV. That had been over 24 hours ago. The doctors had told her dad that he'd suffered massive blood loss, and that coupled with malnutrition to the point of starvation made it normal that he wasn't conscious yet. They were still hesitant to say whether or not he would be ok, his body had suffered so much.

The door hissed open behind her, and she turned slightly to see her father walk in. "Is it time already?" She asked.

"Yes sweetheart, I'm sorry. I can't ask the Captain to wait any longer." She nodded, not bothering to point out that he hadn't regained consciousness.

"I won't ever see him again will I?"

Lieutenant Pike watched her sadly. "I don't know Alex. They've identified him as one of the few who have seen Kodos' face and lived. They won't even tell me his name. If he survives, it's best that no one knows who he is."

"And the others?" She turned back to watch JT, unable to keep the tears forming.

"They will be placed in new homes in groups of two. They'll be ok."

She nodded, knowing that she couldn't be angry at the situation. Starfleet was doing everything right; she just couldn't be a part of it. It stung, and she knew it would be a while before she could get past it.

"We really have to go." He said without impatience, just simple fact.

She got up and approached JT's bed. She leaned in and gently kissed his cheek. "Please be ok. I'm sorry that I can't stay and be here for you. You need to know that they are all safe. All of them. And that's because of you, so you have to get better. Please."

She walked away and didn't look back.

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_Let me know what you think! Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon._


	4. The Academy: Part 1

**Disclaimer: **_Again, I don't own Star Trek or any of it's characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing the, but Alex is my creation._

**A/N: **_ Sorry for taking ages to update! I'm just finishing my thesis at school, and that's been stupidly time consuming._

_Anyhow, here's the first chapter of the next part of the story._

_Thanks so much for your reviews! It's wonderful to know you like this story!_

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9 Years Later

Alex looked up from her PADD as the door to her temporary quarters at the Riverside Shipyard opened with a soft whisper. Her father walked through, with a slight smirk and a captain swagger that he always managed to keep from looking cocky. She grinned at the coffee he was holding, and reached for it immediately.

"Thanks!" She traded him the PADD for the coffee, knowing he'd want to catch up on the day's news.

"I didn't see you at the bar last night," he said idly while flicking through the articles.

"You were at the bar?" Her voice peaked as her astonishment got the better of her. Her dad raised an eyebrow at her, but she just shrugged. It was a valid question.

"I had to check in on all those cadets and new recruits. It's always a disaster waiting to happen. And it was a good thing I did too, I had to break up a fight was some cadets and a local." She frowned at the way he said local, but she didn't comment. "So you didn't go?"

"I went for an hour or so. Caught up with some friends. I didn't want to be out too late, gotta be ready to start classes tomorrow." She stood and straightened her red cadet uniform. She was about to enter her second year at the academy, where she was on the track to become a tactical officer.

"You know, you have to learn how to have fun sometimes." His tone was light, but they both knew it wasn't all that funny. She'd had a hard time getting back to normal after Tarsus IV. She'd spent the first year battling with nightmares. Since then she'd been distrustful of strangers, and it took a lot for her to make friends. Not that she didn't have any friends, but she'd rather have a couple of close friends then a ton of acquaintances.

"Yeah yeah," she waved him off. "So this local, he came out of it all right?"

The captain frowned slightly, and thought a moment before answering. "He's a little beat up, but I have a feeling he'll be just fine." Alex waited, but that seemed to be all her dad was willing to say.

She glanced at the time. "We should get going, the shuttle leaves thirty minutes."

"Pretty sure I'm the one who should be the one giving you orders cadet," he replied with a gleam in his eye. She just grinned and grabbed her bag.

They walked to the shuttle together, and once they reached it she went inside while he stayed out to greet and round up the cadets. Most of the cadets were already on board, and she made her way to the back corner with a set of empty seats. She was just settling in when she heard a light thump behind her. She turned, and caught a quick glance of a young man in a leather jacket with dried blood on his shirt. He looked as though he'd taken a few hits to the face as well. _Is that the guy dad was talking about?_

He rounded the corner and they briefly made eye contact. His blue eyes met her grey ones for an instant, and she felt an old pain stir. She broke the contact instantly, and he seemed to have a similar reaction. He hesitated for a moment before taking the empty seat that left a space between them. She looked down, trying to sift through the emotions she was feeling. Did she know him from somewhere? She was pretty sure that wasn't the case; she was good with faces. But the pain in the pit of her stomach said something. It threatened to pull up memories that she had long since buried. She forced herself away from them, and instead focused on the events around her.

"Never did get that first name," the guy said to a female set sitting a few feet away. She just smiled slyly, refusing to make eye contact with him. Alex frowned; maybe she had just seen him at the bar or something. He seemed like that kind of guy.

"I don't need a doctor damn it, I am a doctor!" Her head jerked to the side at the sound of the raised and frantic voice.

"Sir you need to get back to your seat," a female officer was leading a dishevelled man away from the back of the shuttle.

"I had a seat! In the bathroom! With no windows!" The man looked to be a few years older than her, probably late twenties. He had dark hair and a beard, and he was wearing civilian clothes. His brown eyes were wide, and he looked almost crazed. He had a thick southern accent that attracted the attention of most of the cadets on board.

"You need to get back to your seat now." The woman said sternly, leading the man toward the empty seat between Alex and the blond haired man.

"I suffer from aviophobia, it means fear of dying in something that flies," he put empathises on each of the words, wide eyes attempting to convey his discomfort.

"Sir for your own safety sit down, or else I'll make you sit down." The look she gave him signalled the end of the conversation. He stood for a moment, as if weighing his options.

"Fine," he nodded, waving her off. He sat down beside her and she caught the scent of bourbon and light cologne. Her senses welcomed the smell and she found herself drawn to the stranger immediately.

"_This is Captain Pike, we're cleared for takeoff_."

"I may throw up on you," the older man warned the younger one of his right. He seemed to be ignoring her for the moment, which was fine with her now that he had mentioned vomit.

Blue eyes showed concern for a moment before the man attempted comforting words. "I think these things are pretty safe."

"Don't pander to me kid. One crack in the hull and our blood boils in 13 seconds. A solar flare may crop up and cook us in our seats! And wait'll you're sittin' pretty with a case of Andorian Shingles, see if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding." He took a breath. "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence." She cringed slightly, mostly because the poor man was obviously uncomfortable, and because the things he had just listed were a real possibility.

"Well I hate to break this to you but Starfleet operates in space." _Why is his voice so familiar damn it?_

"Yeah well, I got nowhere else to go, my ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I got left is my bones." He took a swig from a flask he'd pulled out of his jacket, and offered it to the blond one.

"Jim Kirk," he said, holding the flask in a salute before taking a swig. _Kirk? I know that name. George Kirk saved the Kelvin's crew 22 years ago_. There was no way she knew this boy then, she'd remember a fact like that.

"McCoy, Leonard McCoy." By this time the small shuttle was already taking off. She knew they'd head into high orbit before circling back down to the academy in San Francisco. She decided it was high time to stop eavesdropping on the two men, who were obviously content to speak with one another. She glanced around, observing the other cadets. Several were returning cadets, and she knew most of them by name. Others, like the Jim and Leonard, were new recruits. She could tell mostly from the nervous expressions. She smiled warmly at anyone who looked her way, because while she didn't trust people that much, she still wanted them to feel comfortable.

It was about ten minutes later when the shuttle shook violently. She instantly knew something was wrong, she'd been on enough shuttle flights to know this wasn't ordinary turbulence. She felt McCoy stiffen beside her, and a wave of concerned voices filled the small space. The shuttle shook again, and she felt the man push against her. She glanced down to see his knuckles were white as he gripped the chair. She looked up to be met by Jim's gaze, his concern matching her own.

"_Looks like we're having a technical problem here folks. Just sit tight and stay calm." _Her father's reassuring voice echoed over the speakers. To anyone else he sounded calm and confident. But she could hear the slight undertone of worry in his voice. Something was very wrong.

McCoy made a pained sound beside her, and she could hear his breathing becoming more ragged by the second. She ignored him for a moment, assessing the cadets around her first. They seemed to be handling the intermittent shaking well enough, so she turned her focus on Leonard. She told herself not to be scared, because she knew she was safe as possible with her father at the helm.

The man had turned white as a sheet, and his breathing indicated a panic attack. She was about to start to console him when the shaking began full force and didn't stop. That's when she felt real panic flash through her, but she forced herself to focus on the doctor.

"Hey, hey, Leonard look at me." The man was out of breath and had started trying to get out of his seat. "HEY, look at me!" Terrified brown eyes locked on hers, and she grabbed his hands to keep him from unbuckling himself.

"Look at me, that's it. It's gonna be ok, you hear me? You just need to breathe. In and out Leonard, nice and slow." She exaggerated her breathing for him to follow. His hands clenched painfully around hers, but she paid no attention. "That's it, you've got it. You don't need to be afraid all right? Captain Pike will get us through this. Just keep breathing. Good." She was dimly aware of shouting and panic around them, but she kept all of her focus on Leonard.

They didn't break eye contact during the entire event. She just kept uttering soothing words and holding his hands. Eventually the violent turbulence stopped, and everyone quieted down. She still faced him, keeping his hands locked tightly in hers until she was sure he was calm.

"There we go, we're fine now. We're fine." He nodded shakily, seeming to regain control of himself. He shook his head slightly, as though gathering his wits. She gently pulled back, patting him on the shoulder and stretching out her squished fingers.

His cheeks turned a deep shade of red. "Sorry," he muttered, looking down.

"No apologies needed." She smiled gently. That's when she realized Jim's eyes were on them. He was assessing her, and she couldn't tell if he liked what he saw. It was almost like when J- _no_.

"I'm Alex Pike," she offered McCoy a hand, which he shook gently, still refusing to look at her again.

"Pike? As in Captain Pike?" Jim asked, clearly surprised.

"My dad," she stated simply. She was used to people making the connection, and preferred to not make a big deal out of it. "I think you met him last night?"

"Yeah, he's sorta the one who recruited me." Jim nodded.

"_Sorry about that folks. Had an engine failure, took a few minutes to get the back up on line. We'll be landing shortly._"

She continued to wring her hands, trying to get the feeling back. That's when they started to shake slightly. Damn good thing McCoy had kept her attention so focused; she might have been running around the shuttle screaming if he hadn't been there.

"Mind if I get a sip of whatever's in that flask?" McCoy had just taken another swig, obviously along the same line of thought as herself.

He eyed her warily, some of the gruffness he'd displayed before creeping back into his features. "A Captain's daughter wants bourbon?"

"After that? Hell yes." She smiled at him, completely unperturbed with his sudden unfriendliness. Jim had raised his eyebrows during the exchange, and his face broke into a grin at her response.

"Here." McCoy pushed the flask into her hand, looking as if it was killing him to do it. She took a good pull from the container, feeling the warm burn run down her throat.

"Thanks," she said, handing it back to him. Their fingers brushed against each other, but McCoy still refused to her look directly at her. They spent the rest of the trip in silence.

The shuttle landed without incident, and everyone began to file off. McCoy took off immediately, with nothing more than a wave and quickly muttered goodbye. She didn't mind, she had a feeling befriending him was going to be an interesting challenge. But she knew was up for it, he was definitely her kind of company. It'd be nice to reverse roles and not have someone forcing friendship on her for once.

When she stepped of the shuttle ramp she found Jim standing a few feet from her, looking uncertain. She'd seen the glint in his eye as McCoy had left, and somehow knew he'd felt the same pull to the man. Now he seemed to be unsure of what to do. As much as she couldn't shake the odd feeling he gave her, she knew she couldn't just leave him standing there.

"Hey, you know where you're going?" He looked at her surprised, and she could see he was uncomfortable. If she hadn't been so on edge herself she might have been offended. His words with the female cadet on the shuttle proved he was the flirtatious type, yet he hadn't pulled any moves on her. While she wasn't the prettiest girl in the world, she was still attractive, or so she'd been told on many occasions by many drunken boys at bars. She had long strawberry blond hair that went down past her shoulders, and a small yet proportionate frame. Her pale complexion worked well with her stormy grey eyes. But Jim Kirk didn't seem at all interested.

"Uh... no. Not really. This isn't something I planned," he admitted.

"Well, I know Starfleet is always happy to take in new people, so if you head over to the administration building-" she pointed to it over to their left "they can probably set you up. I'm heading in that direction myself, the dorms are just on the other side."

"Great, thanks." The uncomfortable look didn't leave his face, and she was pretty sure it didn't leave hers either, despite her best efforts. They started walking, leaving a good foot between each other.

She tripped suddenly, and only had time to realize she was about to face plant into the cement in front of everyone. She shut her eyes tightly and waited. When she didn't feel herself hit anything her eyes snapped open. Jim was standing in front of her, his intense blue eyes boring into hers. He had a hand on her arm, supporting her.

_"Don't stop." Flashes of forest as they ran for their lives. JT's grin as Kevin told him all about Alex's stories. JT eating bread with her in the middle of the night. His face when he'd attacked those men and saved her life. _

Every memory from Tarsus IV flooded her mind as she stared at the man in front of her. She gasped and pulled away involuntarily.

"_JT,_" she managed to whisper. Jim took a step back as if she'd hit him, his eyes widening in recognition. Pure panic flooded her entire body. He was right there in front of her. The boy she'd left behind. The one who she'd let down, because she left him alone in the medical bay. She hadn't fought to stay with him, and she'd spent the last 9 years regretting it. He wouldn't want to see her. Why would he? She'd failed him.

"Ally?" His voice was low, but she didn't look up at him. She didn't want to see the anger, hurt, and betrayal. She felt tears spilling down her cheeks, but she couldn't stop them.

"I-" Her breathe hitched and she couldn't take it anymore. "I'm sorry!" And she took off, running towards the dorms as fast as she could.

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_Let me know what you think! It'll probably be a little while till I update again, so I apologise in advance. _


	5. The Academy: Part 2

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Star Trek or any of it's characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing them, but Alex is mine._

**A/N: **_ Hi again! Sorry it's been so long again, exams were tough. But I'm officially done! So hopefully I can update more often!_

_And thank you again for thegreat reviews! I hope you like it! _

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Alex's blood was rushing through her ears so loudly she didn't hear Jim call after her. She just ran like she was running for her life, blowing past surprised cadets and officers. More than one of them stopped to stare at her, concern and intrigue clear on their faces. She barely noticed, because she was pretty sure the world was crumbling around her. She'd spent years putting him out of her mind. Years forcing the guilt down until it only haunted her subconscious.

She'd been told numerous times by her father, and the psychologist she'd been forced to see, that it wasn't her fault. She hadn't abandoned him, she'd saved his life. She was only twelve years old, what more could she have done? She'd seen the logic in their statements, but she'd never really felt it. She could have fought harder to stay with him, she could have fought harder to know his name and contact him. But she hadn't. And she'd learn to deal with it by making a vow that she would never leave someone behind again.

And now he was right here? At the academy? How was she supposed to look him in the eye? He probably hated her. She sure as hell hated herself.

She reached her dorm room and closed the door behind her. She sagged against it with a sob, not even trying to hold the tears back. She had the presence of mind to be relieved that her roommate, Debbie, wasn't home. She was on a term leave on the _U.S.S Centura_.

He'd look good though. She realized there was a part of her that wanted to see him again, to hug him and thank him and make sure he knows that everything was all right. She needed to tell him that he's the reason she joined Starfleet, so she could help people the way he had.

But she couldn't. Instead she was stuck to the floor crying her eyes out.

She didn't know how much time passed before she finally decided to pick herself up off the floor and get cleaned up. She convinced herself that it was necessary because she'd left her bag on the shuttle, and she needed to go out in search of it. Nothing complicated.

She was about to head into the tiny bathroom when someone knocked on her door. It was a soft knock, almost tentative. She glanced in the mirror, horrified to see puffy red eyes and tear stained cheeks. _They'll go away if I ignore it right?_

The knock came again, this time more forcefully. It was rare that someone was at her door, so she assumed it was one of her friends or her dad. Meaning it didn't really matter what state she answered the door.

She hit the open button and almost died when she saw who was standing there.

_JT._

She hadn't realized she had any tears left, but the look he was giving her helped her realize she had an endless supply. He looked concerned, worried, and scared. He was holding a PADD and a cadet uniform under one arm. He'd obviously just come from registration.

He looked hesitant, but when she just stared at him he spoke. "Um... hi."

"Hi," she replied, her voice quiet.

"Uh... look, I just... I realize you probably don't want anything to do with me..." She quirked her head to one side, _she_ didn't want anything to do with _him_? "I just wanted to- Can I come in?" He looked so vulnerable she couldn't refuse. She stepped to the side and he slid in past her. She could smell alcohol and blood on him.

She closed the door and turned to face him, trying to overcome her emotions and speak like a normal human being. He beat her to it.

"I don't really know where to start. It's been a long time Ally." His voice was so soft as he used her old nickname. She was surprised that she didn't automatically correct him; she wouldn't let anybody call her that anymore. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again. I mean, I wanted to, I just didn't know how to find you. They weren't exactly willing to give me information about a Starfleet officers family." All she could do was nod, because she was shocked. His words echoed her thoughts perfectly.

"I woke up on that ship and you were gone and I-"

"I'm so sorry!" She burst out, suddenly finding her voice again. "Every day I regret leaving you alone. I can't even explain to you how badly I wanted to stay. I-" He stopped her by stepping into her space, his eyes wide.

"What are you talking about? I remember you leaving; you told me where you were going. You didn't leave me alone; you were the first person in a long time to be straight and honest with me." He paused, searching for the right words. "You saved my life." He had grabbed her arms and was staring into her eyes in earnest, attempting to force her to understand.

"You remembered that?" She was surprised. She'd never really considered that he might understand her leaving. Why hadn't she considered that?

"Of course I did. And we were just kids, none of that was in our control. I don't blame you. So you better damn well stop blaming yourself." A weight the size of a starship lifted off her shoulders. She sagged against him in relief, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She returned the embrace willingly.

"You saved my life twice on the damn planet. And you're the reason I joined Starfleet, so I could help people like you did. I wanted you to know that," whispered into his shirt. He pulled away and held her at arms length.

"I..." He stopped, struggling to find the words. "What happened to them? The kids?"

"You don't know?" That brought on a spark of anger. How could they not tell him?

He shook his head. "They wouldn't tell me, something about keeping them safe."

She smiled slightly, the memory of the children was never a sore spot for her. "Starfleet found them homes in groups of 2. Mostly with distant relatives. Last I heard they were all doing really well. That was about 4 years ago."

He let out a laugh, one filled with relief and joy. "That's good. That's really good." She felt herself grinning.

"Yeah, makes it all worth it," she said. He nodded in agreement. They stood in silence for a moment before she spoke.

"So what now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I don't like to talk about it much. Or at all."

"Me either," She agreed. "I don't even go by Ally anymore."

"I don't go by JT either." He thought for a moment. "Ok, so about this? Start fresh?"

"I'd like that," she said with a warm smile.

He stuck out his hand. "Jim Kirk, at your service."

"Alex Pike," she said, taking his hand. He gave her boyish grin, and his eyes travelled up and down her body, the grin growing wider. She gasped, and pushed him away, though a small part of her was glad for the attention.

"So, whatta you think of this McCoy guy? What's his deal?" Jim asked, changing the subject smoothly.

"I dunno, but I like him." Alex replied with a grin. Jim mirrored her smile almost exactly.

"Wanna hear something funny?" She nodded, enjoying the ease at which they were able to speak after the revelations of the day. "I'm sharing a dorm with him."

She burst out laughing. "Seriously? That'll be great!"

"I think so too. He'll need a new name though; Leonard is boring."

"Absolutely, got anything in mind?" Jim got a mischievous look in his eye.

"I'm sure I'll come up with something."

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The next few months were some of the most interesting she'd had at the academy so far. Getting to know Jim had been an intense experience, and she could see now that he wasn't the same boy she'd come to know nine years ago. On the outside he was a playboy. Flirting with girls, pulling pranks, generally rebelling from anything a superior put in front of him. Alex wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she had known him before, but she was able to see straight through his defence. She could see the hurt boy on the other side, the one who had seen way to many evils in a short period of time. She could see how much her cared about others, even if he didn't show it openly.

At the same time, she knew he could see through her as well. She was fairly well put together in the classroom atmosphere, following the rules and respecting others. But at the same time, Alex knew how to enjoy herself and she knew when things didn't have to be too serious. She obviously had some issues with people, rarely allowing anyone to get too close. She wasn't a scared person in general, but she was very well practiced at slipping away from a person without them noticing or taking offence.

It was that ability to understand one another, that connection, that helped them to become fast friends.

Alex was not as good as covering it up her issues as Jim was. He'd already gotten into 3 fights, and shrugged them off like it was nothing. It seemed nothing was able to wipe that smile off his face. Not even McCoy, who was still refusing to warm up to Jim. Leonard was slightly friendlier to Alex, but it was hard to notice. It could even be she was imagining it. But she liked to think he liked her better, and also quite enjoyed telling Jim that every chance she got.

It was a Friday evening, and as usual most of the cadets were at one of the bars that were within walking distance from the dorms. This had never been her scene. Not that she hated bars, with the dancing, load music, brawls, and dancing. She had just never felt the need to attend these evenings. Of course, that was unbelievable to Jim. He'd drag her along every chance he got, even though by the end of the night he'd end up abandoning her for some girl.

At first Alex had felt a little jealous, but as time went on she began to appreciate their friendship more and more. It just felt right, like a puzzle piece from her life that she'd been missing all this time. So she shoved down any feelings that might get in the way of that, and allowed Jim to run off with whatever girl he chose, never commenting or judging. In fact, she'd already been his "wing man" twice.

"Seriously Jim, I really have to study. I've got that introduction to medical final coming up, and I'm worried about it!" She tried to pull her arm out of his grip, straining her body back towards the dorms. She was actually trying this time, not like every other time when she'd given a half hearted attempt and then gone along anyways.

"Aw come on Alex! You'll do fine. I've seen your transcript, you ace practically every class!" He pulled harder, and she sighed and fell into step beside him.

"You've seen my transcript?" She didn't even try to sound angry or annoyed. He'd already admitted to hacking the system to see her class schedule. And McCoy's.

He just winked at her. She rolled her eyes, _men_. "So, why do you want me to go so badly? You know you're going to find a girl in 5 minutes and then I'll go home anyways."

"Bones is going be there!"

"You're still trying to call him that? You know he'd never going to answer to it," she said with a shake of her head.

He feigned hurt. "I think it's a great name!"

"Yeah yeah, of course you do, you came up with it." They were coming up on the bar at this point.

"Look, if you're here maybe he'll warm up a bit. And maybewith some alcohol. I'm tired of the almost silent treatment he gives me at the dorm." He looked almost serious, and she knew on some level Jim really just wanted to be Leonard's friend. But on another level it was a fun challenge to pass the time.

She shrugged, acknowledging his point and silently agreeing to help him. But she really should be studying.

They entered the bar, and Jim shoved her in the direction of McCoy, who was hunched over the bar. She turned to ask him what he was going to do, but he was literally already flirting with a blond at the table by the door.

"Great," she muttered. He didn't have much of a chance earning McCoy's friendship if he wasn't actually there.

She settled on the seat next to the doctor, taking note that there was ample space on either side of him. He seemed to exude grouchiness and even though the bar was full, it seemed people wanted to give him a wide breadth.

"Hi!" She said, trying to add cheer to her voice and minimize it so as not to annoy him. Sunshine and rainbows obviously weren't his favourite things.

He grunted and gave her the barest of nods. She succeeded in keeping the look of sadness off her face. What had this man gone through to make him so miserable? And was Jim just making it worse?

The bartender floated by, and she ordered a beer. Not her normal drink, but Jim said she had to acquire the taste. _Why am I doing everything he tells me to do?_ She shook her head, something to dwell on later.

"So... how're classes going?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't just get up and walk away.

He glanced at her, and paused heavily before answering. "Fine."

"That's good. I should really be studying right now, intro med is next week. You have any finals coming up?"

He nodded, and took a sip of his bourbon. Her beer arrived at the same time, and she took a good gulp of it. This really wasn't going to go anywhere, and she wasn't the kind of person to sit and bug someone who obviously didn't want company. She was about to turn away when he spoke.

"You shouldn't worry about intro med, I've seen you in the triage drills, you're good at it." This time she didn't triumph in covering her emotions and her jaw dropped to the floor. That was the longest sentence he had ever said to her outside the classroom environment.

"Um... thanks. That means a lot coming from you. I've seen you in those drills too. Despite the fact that you're a little... offensive sometimes, you are a great teacher. You know your stuff." She hoped she wasn't overstepping, calling an aggressive man mean probably wasn't a good thing.

He let out a barking laugh. "You haven't seen me offensive yet darlin'." Her eyes widened in surprise, but she grinned at the same time.

"Really? Remind me never to piss you off."

"Mind telling Kirk that?" He looked annoyed again.

"Uh yeah, about him. He really does mean well. He's just-"

"Annoying, overzealous, a pain in my ass?" He growled, glancing over at Jim who was currently lip locked with the blond.

"Yeah, that sums him up pretty well," she replied with a sigh, grabbing for her beer again.

"Why are you friends with a guy like that?" McCoy looked genuinely interested in hearing her response.

"Cause there's more to him then this charade. He's-" She was cut off as someone grabbed her shoulder and swung her around hard enough for her to lose her balance on the stool. The only reason she didn't fall was because McCoy had grabbed her arm.

"Hey there hot stuff, wanna dance?" Or at least, that's what it sounded like the drunken man in front of her was trying to ask. He was swaying on his feet, and entirely invading her personal space. He smelled terrible, and the entire situation was causing panic to flare inside her. She didn't have anyone to back her up. Sure, McCoy was right there, and Jim was in the bar, but as much as she liked Leonard and Jim, she didn't trust them to save her. She was used to handling things on her own.

She pushed the man in front of her back, and stood up to get her balance back. She'd have a better chance of fighting him off this way. And she did have the training to do so, but she couldn't quite remember what it was in her panicked state.

"Hey buddy," McCoy's tone was harsh, and he had stood up as well. "Leave the girl alone. She ain't interested." McCoy moved to stand between her and the jerk wobbling in front of her, and she felt a calm overcome the panic. It seemed McCoy was the man she'd thought he was, a good hearted guy and not some washed up asshole.

The drunk looked back and forth between them, and without a word threw a punch at McCoy's face. Brave knight in shining armour that he might be, McCoy obviously wasn't ready for it, and he took it hard. He fell backwards, and Alex steadied him from behind. Leonard pulled a hand away from him face, revealing blood already pouring from his nose. He looked stunned and confused.

That meant it was her turn. She stepped in front of him to discourage the attacker from taking another shot. Of course, this meant she was his focus now.

"Calm on lady, let's dance!" He grabbed her arms, and pulled her away. She weighed her options, and saw the opportunity clearly. She pulled her knee up, hitting him square in the groin, and when he doubled over she grabbed his back and thrust her knee into his face. He stumbled backwards, howling in pain.

"Back off," was all she said. Figuring that would buy her a few moments, she turned back to McCoy, who seemed to be gathering his wits. "Are you ok?"

He was about to answer, but his eyes widened and he stared over her shoulder. She turned slowing, to come face to face with drunk number one, and two of his obviously drunk friends. It was all happening so fast that no one in the bar even noticed the problem.

And the problem was, on one them was holding knife. She held up her hands and tried to back up. "Hey guys, whoa there. We don't want any problems." Suddenly McCoy was in front of her again, and if the situation hadn't been this serious, she would have laughed at the game of "My turn to protect you" they were playing.

Without any words, like the first man, the guy with the knife, lunged at them. Leonard twisted to the side, pulling Alex with him, and the knife slid by them. Or so she thought until she heard him grunt in pain. But McCoy didn't stop, he used the movement to swing a fist at the attacker, catching him hard in the jaw. Knife guy stumbled, but didn't fall. Alex grabbed Leonard's shoulders to pull him back as the man took another swipe, narrowly missing the doctor's torso.

Alex glanced around in panic, but no one seemed to notice their predicament. And she knew that screaming wouldn't do much in this noisy place. She turned back to the men, and realized his next strike was going to land. She gasped, desperately trying to move fast enough to get herself and Leonard out of the way.

That's when Jim made his entrance. He came in fast and hard, slamming into the armed man and tackling him to the floor. They struggled there, but Alex couldn't take the time to watch because there were still 2 very angry men in front of them. McCoy moved forward and started pounding drunk number two, and Alex took the initiative to hit the original guy with her beer glass.

The fight was over in seconds, as the occupants of the bar suddenly wised up to the situation and broke them up. She was barely aware of what was happening as a couple of bouncers pushed their way out the door, dragging her with them. She faintly heard someone call her name, and then she was suddenly out in the cool night air. She leaned against the wall to catch her breath, all the while looking frantically for the boys.

Jim was suddenly in her line of vision, grasping her tightly. She hugged him back as the adrenaline faded and she began to shake. He pulled back to get a look at her.

"Are you all right?" He lip was cut and bleeding and she could see a bruise already forming on his cheek. But other than that he looked unharmed.

"Yeah, I'm ok," she answered.

"What happened? One minute you were talking to McCoy, next I see a guy try to stab y-" His eyes widened and he turned around searching intently. Alex saw McCoy the same time Jim did, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the entrance, clutching his side. She could see the blood from ten feet away.

She swore under her breathe and pushed through the small crowd towards him. "Leonard?" She called hesitantly, moving to stand where she could see his face. He was breathing normally, but his face was scrunched up in pain.

"You ok?" He asked, pain etched in his voice.

"Me? Of course I'm ok! You're then one who got stabbed!" She couldn't help that her voice pitched up a few octaves.

"Not stabbed. Grazed. Sorta deep." He pulled his hand away to reveal the wound. He was right, it wasn't too bad, but it would require medical assistance. And his nose was still bleeding. She was about to rip her sleeve to give him something to use when Jim handed him a piece of his own shirt. McCoy took it and held it to his nose, flinching.

"You need to get to a hospital," Alex said, moving to his side to support him as he waivered. Jim took his other side without a word.

"No! Just get me back to the dorm, I can clean myself up." He growled firmly. She didn't argue, but she did look to Jim to see if he would. He didn't. Instead, Jim slipped under McCoy's arm and started walking back to the academy.

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It was about an hour later, and she was lying on Jim's bed. Jim was on the room's little couch, insisting she took the bed. She had refused to leave and head back to her own room, saying the two of them would be happy when she made them coffee in the morning. Really she wanted to keep an eye on the two of them. She wasn't sure what the morning would bring and how the two would handle each other. She also felt extremely guilty. It was her fault McCoy had gotten hurt at all. And she didn't know if he blamed Kirk for any of it.

They'd gotten McCoy patched up, using a tissue regenerator from his med kit. He'd fussed a bit, and she and Jim had a good laugh at how he didn't enjoy being the patient. Jim had refused any treatment for himself, as usual.

Now she was trying to fall asleep, fighting against her active mind.

She was just starting to drift off when Jim spoke. "Hey Bones?" _Jim! The man just got into a bar fight to help me, and you're still going to call him Bones? _So much for getting along.

Silence followed for a second, and she feared the worst. Or maybe he was sleeping.

"Yeah?" McCoy finally answered softly. She fought to keep her gasp at the fact that he'd acknowledged the nick name inaudible.

"Thanks... for ya know... protecting her." He sounded genuinely grateful. She smiled, because she couldn't even detect anything but sincerity in his voice.

"Anytime kid," Bones replied in the same tone. "Anytime."

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_Please review! I love to know what you think! Thanks! _


	6. The Academy: Part 3

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Star Trek or any of it's characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing them, but Alex is mine._

**A/N: **_ Sorry it's been so long since an update! I had a case of writers block for a while there. But here's the next part, and I won't promise anything, but the next chapter should be along soon._

_I hope you like it! Sorry that it's a bit short. _

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2 Years Later

Alex hurried down the hallway that led to the flight simulation room. She was late. Again. Two years ago this would have bothered her to no end. She'd be running down the hallway. But now, after spending so much time with McCoy and Kirk, she'd learned to let it go. She was late because of Jim's latest scheme to hook up with a female cadet a couple of doors down from Alex. And of course she'd been suckered into helping him. Despite the fact that she was getting more and more opposed to his games. She couldn't really figure out why, but she refused to consider that it was because she was developing feelings for him. It was just the fact that it had been two straight years of this, how could he still be playing these games?

Either way, she was late for flight class. And it wasn't lost on her that she'd left Jim behind with 2B and he was supposed to be her flight partner.

She sighed as she reached the door, straightening her uniform and composing herself. She slipped in quietly, glad that this particular room had its entrance at the back, so she wouldn't be noticed by too many cadets. Alex skimmed the room quickly, looking for an empty seat. She smiled in relief when she saw the seat next to Hikaru Sulu was empty.

She sat down next to him and whispered, "Is this seat taken?"

Sulu grinned at her. "Not today, Cam is sick again. Where's your partner?"

Alex answered with a raised eyebrow, a silent _really? _While he'd never actually met Jim, Alex had complained about him enough time for the pilot in training to understand. Sulu's grin grew wider, and they both turned to listen to the professor.

An hour later they both walked about of the room with very smug expressions. There had been a test scenario played out at the end of the class, and they had performed test best out of the class.

"So what do you say you ditch this Jim fellow and we partner all the time? I'm sure he and Cam would get along," Hikaru said with a mischievous smile.

"Tempting offer. I do quite enjoying winning. Let's put it this way, if Jim misses one more class I'm all yours." She winked at him, and they both burst into laughter. She'd known Hikaru since her first year, and while they were good friends, and even better teammates, there wasn't anything romantic between them. And since she spent most of her time with Jim and Bones, they didn't see each other all that often.

"Well partner, I'm already late for my next class. So I'll see you around? You'll have to actually introduce me to Jim one of these days."

"That would require him to actually follow a schedule, but I'll see what I can do." They waved at each other as they headed in different directions down the hallway. She rounded a corner and bumped right into Jim. They both stumbled back a step, uttering quick apologies before realizing who it was.

"Ah Alex! How was class?" Jim's face was flushed, and his hair was in disarray. She rolled her eyes, and plastered a smile to her face to cover the subtle stab of pain in her heart. She'd been able to forget all about Jim and 2B in class, but having him right in front of her, basically flaunting the act, was a little too much. She pushed the feelings down, making a mental note to dwell on her reaction later.

"Great! Sulu and I got top marks for the test scenario. Out flying a Klingon fighter."

"Crap, I missed a test?" His frown lasted about 3 seconds, and then he seemed to get over it. "Who's Sulu?"

She actually smacked him. "Don't give me that, you know who Sulu is, you just refuse to actually stand still for 2 seconds to meet him."

"Right," he paused, and gave her a once over. "You ok?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah, fine. Why?" She asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"I dunno, no reason." He looked at her a second more, and she did her best to look normal. "Ok, well Amy and I are going to that bar you like tonight, wanna join us?" _Right, 2B's name is Amy_. She bit her lip for an instant, and realized she didn't even have to make up an excuse to not go.

"Can't sorry, tactics exam tomorrow. Have fun though!" She patted his shoulder, and went to move past him, aiming for her dorm room. He fell into step beside her, heading in the same direction, but she knew he'd detour off to the mess hall.

"You study too much," he said, a slight complaint evident in his tone.

"One of us has too." They shared a look before going their separate ways, and Alex found herself smiling, remembering why they were friends. She'd just have to find a way to make the other stuff not matter.

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Alex looked up from her textbook as her communicator buzzed. Noting the page she was on she stood up and walked to the wall to answer it. A lieutenant appeared on the little screen, looking a little nervous. The look turned to sympathy when she answered. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Pike here. How can I help you sir?" She tried to keep her voice steady, but in her stomach was already turning. Something was wrong.

"Cadet Pike, I'm sorry to have to inform you of this, but your father has been... killed in action." Alex froze, and only managed to choke out a gasp. It felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. "The _Apollo_ was attacked by several Klingon vessels an hour ago. All reports thus far say it was destroyed. I'm very sorry."

"I... I...I can't... thank you for contacting me so quickly." Her voice switched to officer mode. It wasn't this man's fault, and he didn't deserve to feel guilty if she broke down in front of him.

"I'm terribly sorry for you loss." And with that he ended the communication. She stepped back, and found she couldn't breathe. Her dad was dead. She'd already lost her mother, and now her father. How was she supposed to handle that?

_First things first Alex, remember to breathe, that's it. _She sucked in a deep breath. _Find Jim._

She hit the communicator a little too hard and dialled Jim's room.

The second the screen lit up she said, "Jim?" but it wasn't Jim. It was McCoy. And she burst out crying.

"Alex? What's wrong?" Bones looked extremely worried, and only slightly aggravated. He didn't like it when girls cried.

"I-sorry, it's my dad, he's-he's-oh god I can't!" She hit ended the conversation and collapsed on the ground, sobs wracking her entire body. If Jim had answered she would have been ok. He would have seen it in her eyes and she would have been able to maintain composure. But Bones was different. He noticed things, but not the same way Jim did. And she didn't want to lose her composure with him. So of course she had.

There was a knock on her door, but she couldn't move to answer it. She couldn't focus on anything. Everything around her was a blur, and it was all she could do to get a breath in between the cries. If she had been aware she would have heard some bad language from the other side of the door as Bones called security for an override.

Suddenly she was wrapped in his arms. She grabbed hold of his shirt and clung to him, trying to stop the tremors that shook her. He didn't say anything at first, just settled on the floor with her and held her close to him. He had one leg bent and the other out straight so he could pull her whole body towards him, wrapping her in warmth and comfort. After a moment he began to rock her and utter soft soothing words that she couldn't understand.

Slowly she started to calm down, as her breathing slowed and she started to become aware of her environment. Her face was pressed against his chest, and she could smell the light scent of bourbon that was McCoy.

"Easy girl easy. Just breathe. That's it. You're ok." He was repeating those words over and over. She regained control over her body and pulled away slowly to look at him. He looked down at her with sad worried eyes.

"My dad," her breath hitched but she managed to maintain control. "My dad's ship was destroyed an hour ago. He was on board."

"Oh Alex." Bones closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't know what to do," she whispered brokenly.

"That's ok darlin'. You don't have to. I'm here." He hugged her tightly and they stayed like that for over an hour. Just breathing and rocking softly.

Eventually Bones got her up and over to the little couch. He brought her a wet cloth to clean her face, and a blanket. She'd start to shake a bit.

"I don't think there's anything I can say that you want to hear right now," he said quietly, sitting down beside her. "I know what it's like to lose a parent."

She nodded, accepting the comfort he offered. She glanced around suddenly, and turned to look at Leonard. "Where's Jim?" He should have come too.

"He's..." Bones looked hesitant. "Out."

"With Amy." Alex finished for him. She shook her head slowly, sadness clear on her features.

"I can call him," Bones offered, moving to grab his personal communicator from his pocket.

"No don't." She grabbed his hand. "It's fine. You're here." It hurt that he wasn't here. That he was out still out Amy. That he wasn't here when she needed him, and she was always there for him. But she really couldn't dwell on that. The pain of Jim's absence was small and familiar compared to that of the loss of her father. And she knew if Jim showed up now, he'd do more harm than good. She'd take out her anger and pain and loss on him, and that wasn't fair. Even if he deserved it just a little.

She looked at Bones sadly, and he seemed to read he mind, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her tight. He was intuitive on a level that Jim wasn't, even if he rarely showed it. McCoy had a wall of defence built up bigger than most starships but over the past 2 years she'd learned to see through it. And she knew he'd learned to see through her. The difference between her relationship with Jim and hers with Leonard was that Jim knew everything. He knew her past, and her secrets. And she knew his. With McCoy, it was a bond based on very few facts. She knew little of his life before she'd met him, and while he knew her basic background, he didn't know about Tarsus IV or her life growing up surrounded by Starfleet. Despite the lack of knowledge they were great friends, even if no one else realized it.

"Are you hungry?" Bones asked, after several minutes of leaving her to her thoughts.

"No," she whispered, knowing he was going to force her to eat anyways. He was a doctor after all.

"All right, but let me at least pour you a drink." She sat up slightly, surprised.

"Yeah, that would be good." McCoy went and rummaged through tiny kitchen in the dorm room, and returned with two glasses of bourbon. A drink she kept handy specifically for him.

She smiled ever so slightly as he handed her the glass, but was forced to hold back tears when he said, "To Christopher Pike, the best damn Starfleet captain I've ever known." She swallowed hard to keep from crying, and a little too forcefully clinked her glass against his before gulping back the liquor.

She paused slightly before saying, "You barely knew him; how could he be the best you've known?" It wasn't an accusing question, she was simply curious. She knew he had a reason, and wouldn't have said it just to appease her.

"Cause he raised you, and he did a damn good job at that. How could he be anything less as a Captain?" Bones replied seriously, looking her straight in the eye. A tear fell down her cheek, but she didn't cry. Instead she smiled a true smile for the first time that evening.

"Thank you," she said, wrapping her arms around him. Just then her personal communicator beeped from across the room. She jumped in McCoy's armed before pulling away to face it warily.

"You don't have to answer that."

"I know, but it could be important." She rose and crossed the room, catching it just in time. She flipped it open and stumbled backwards onto her bed in shock. Leonard was already up and crossing the room when she whispered, "Dad?"

"Alex honey, you're probably going to get a call saying my ship was destroyed, but I'm fine. I'm fine ok? We made it out in the shuttles just in time. Alex? Can you hear me?" She was speechless, staring at her father's face. He was alive, obviously a little worse for wear, but alive. She couldn't process it. She just stared. Suddenly McCoy was there, gently angling the communicator towards himself.

"Sir? It's Cadet McCoy. We received a communication about 2 hours ago saying you were dead."

The captain swore. "I was worried news would travel that fast. That's why I contacted you first. It took us a little while to get communications restored. How is she?" Alex regained control at that moment, grabbing the communicator.

"I would yell at you, but I'm too relieved. You scared the hell out of me dad."

"I'm sorry sweetheart. But I'm fine, and I'll see you very soon. But I have to go now ok?"

"Go, be a captain. And don't ever do that again." He smiled at her before cutting the connection.

She threw her arms around Bones, laughing and crying at the same time. "He's ok, he's ok, he's ok." She kept repeating into his shoulder.

After a minute she pulled away and looked him in the eyes. He was grinning and his eyes were shining, out of pure relief on her behalf. They stared at each other for a long moment, as their breathing settled from the sudden excitement.

And then suddenly their lips met, crushing against each other in frantic passion. The need to feel alive, to feel happy, to let the relief sink in and remember everything was ok fuelled her. He'd been there for her; he'd been everything she'd needed, everything she'd wanted.

He pulled back quickly, his eyes were wide and his breathing was rough. "Alex?" She could see it now. He needed this too. He needed to feel wanted and loved and accepted. In this moment he needed her as much as she needed him. She pressed another kiss to his mouth, and pushed him down onto the bed, driven by pure passion. He pulled away again. "Are you sure?" He asked, searching her face intently.

"I'm sure."

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_Please review! I always like to hear what you think. _


	7. The Academy: Part 4

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing them, but Alex is mine._

**A/N: **_ Wow... so I've been coming back to this story on and off in my spare time. I have a bunch written for future moments, beyond what takes place during the movie, I just need to get through this first. But it just dawned on me that it's been over a year since I updated! So I kicked myself and got writing the follow-up. Here you go!_

_I apologize for the massive hiatus, but here is the next chapter. And there should be an update following soon. Sooner then 2014 anyways._

_I hope you enjoy! _

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"_I'm sure."_

Alex woke up slowly, not exactly sure what had roused her. She moved slightly, and felt the warmth of a body pressed against hers. Her fingers stretched out and felt a smooth abdomen, and she felt her face stretch into a sleepy smile as her wits slowly returned. A hand came up and gently grasped hers as Alex tilted her head to look into Leonard's drowsy eyes.

It was then that she became aware of a banging against her door, and a concerned slightly panicked shouting. "Alex! Please, open the door! I saw the news, Alex, are you ok?" It was Jim.

"Oh god," Alex breathed, and sat straight up, immediately awake. She became suddenly aware that she was entirely naked, and in bed with Bones.

"Shit," Bones growled at the same time. He looked as if he was about to jump out of the bed, but stopped to stare at her. She glanced down and immediately grabbed the sheets to cover herself. Their eyes met, and they shared a look of sheepishness and slight horror.

"ALEX! I'm going to get a security override, open the damn door!" It had been a while since she'd heard Jim sound so upset, and it spurred her into action.

"Jim! I'll be right there!" She called. "Clothes!" She hissed, and she and Bones proceeded to dress faster then she would have thought possible. She made a move for the door, but stopped and turned to the mess that was her bed. Bones followed her thoughts and quickly moved to straighten things up. She waited a beat, and then opened the door.

Jim looked awful. His hair was a mess, his eyes seemed slightly sunken, and she was sure he hadn't slept at all. He took one look at her before practically leaping at her, and wrapping her in a strong hug. She didn't know what to do, her brain was still processing the fact that she and McCoy had just _slept together_. But the power and passion behind his hug pulled her back to reality, and she returned the gesture just as fiercely.

"I was at the bar when I saw. It took forever to get back here, I'm so sorry." He was talking quickly but gently, and most of it was muffled into her shoulder.

She pulled back so he could see her face. "My dad's ok, he contacted me about an hour after Starfleet did. He was able to get off the ship before it exploded. Everything is fine. And Bones was here," She gestured backwards to Bones, and they both turned to see him sitting awkwardly on the edge of the couch. She cringed slightly when she realized how messy his hair was. "It wasn't fine at first, but then my dad called, so then it was fine." She was babbling a bit, but that was expected given that she'd woken up 3 minutes ago.

Jim gaped at her for a second then asked, "Your dad's alive?" She nodded, and he pulled her into another hug. "That is the best news I've ever heard!"

She laughed and pulled away again, suddenly aware that Bones was watching them, and she saw a fleeting look of anger pass over his features. She gave him a quizzical look before returning her attention to Jim.

"Why didn't you call me?" Jim's voice held a slight rebuke.

"Why didn't she call you?!" Bones was suddenly on his feet and in Jim's space, putting Alex behind him. "You were out with yet another girl, how was she supposed to? She tried! And got me instead. Because you were off being a jackass!" McCoy's face had turned red with anger, and Alex actually heard his knuckles pop as clenched his hands into fists.

Jim looked extremely surprised, and to his credit didn't react with anger of his own. But he also didn't back down, and Alex had known them both long enough to see that if she didn't intervene they'd come to blows.

"Len-" She tried, but he caught her off.

"Don't _even_ try to defend him!" He growled at her, and she stepped back when she saw the pure rage in his eyes. He stopped suddenly, his eyes widening when he recognized her fear. Then he muttered a curse and left the room. Alex stared at the open door, more than a little horrified.

"What was that?" Jim asked quietly, his face burdened with hurt and confusion.

"Um..." Alex was wondering the same thing, and while she realized Bones was reacting out of the need to protect her, she couldn't tell Jim that. Not until she actually talked to Leonard and figured out where they stood. She knew she didn't want to tell Jim what had happened, even though she didn't quite understand why. She also knew that she had never fully considered sleeping with McCoy before last night. She had always been a little attracted to him on some level, and he was one of her best friends, so she loved him. But something had always been in the way, something she couldn't quite put a name to. _Now isn't the time to self reflect Pike!_ "I was sorta a mess last night... I think he's upset that you weren't here. I didn't handle it very well."

"Are you upset that I wasn't here?" The question was so soft, so tentative. _Yes! Of course!_ A voice in her head practically screamed.

"No," she lied. _Don't lie!_ "But I needed you last night. I called your room and Bones answered. If he hadn't... well I don't know what I would have done." Somewhat honest.

"I'm sorry. If I'd known I would have-"

"There's no way you could have know. Don't be sorry. It all worked out just fine." _Except that your two best friends had sex..._ She flinched slightly, trying to will her brain to shut it.

"Still..." He looked really worried, like he didn't quite believe her. Which was expected, since he always knew when she was lying.

"Really Jim. It's fine." She gave him a quick hug, before turning back to the open door. "I should go after him."

"No, I will." Jim said, starting to walk out of the room.

She grabbed his arm, probably a little too forcefully. "I really should. You don't need another black eye."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "But I look even more handsome when I have a black eye!"

"I'm a little worried you'd end up with more than a black eye, given the mood he's in." She gave his hand a quick squeeze, then took off down the hall

Where would he have gone? Not his dorm. That would be too easy, and he'd risk Jim finding him right away. The medical centre? No, there would be too many people, too many questions. The workout centre? Possibly, Alex assumed he wouldn't mind taking out some frustration on a punching bag. _Or a fellow cadet... _But that didn't feel right. Which left an entirely new place or the shoreline. Best to put her money on routine, it wasn't Bones' style to change it up.

She was about half way to the river that ran alongside the Academy when she stopped and realized she'd need to gather her thoughts first. Which meant finally answering that question that had been nagging her for the better part of 3 years. Did she have feelings for Jim? She'd been avoiding the subject with typical Pike stubbornness, but at this moment she knew it was something she'd have to face.

So Jim. She'd had a connection with him since that first moment they'd met. But they'd been so young, romance wasn't even on the list. And then she'd found him again after so long, and romance was top of their respective lists. But it had been obvious that for Jim it wasn't a romance with her. It was with any creature that called itself a female. And while at first Jim hadn't been on her list either, at some point she must have moved him up, or else why would she be so annoyed and hurt when he went off with random girls? If Alex truly saw him as just a friend, those feelings would not exist.

And there it was. She had feelings for him. It was so obvious when she allowed herself to see it. She felt alive whenever he was around. He could light her up better than anyone else. And he was strong, intelligent, caring, loyal, hilarious, and to top that off incredibly handsome. All qualities that formed an amazing man. An amazing man that she could see herself loving.

And then there was Bones. Another man she had a connection with. But it wasn't the same, and she knew deep down it never would be. Bones was truly her friend. She wanted to protect him, care for him, laugh with him, cry with him. She loved him, but she wasn't _in_ love with him. Because of Jim. It would always be Jim unless that door closed completely. The more she thought about it, the more she was sure that Bones felt the same about her. He wasn't in love with her, but he wanted to protect her. And last night that had led to something intimate because they had both needed it. And this morning it had led to him lashing out at Jim. Did that mean that Bones knew how she felt? Had he known even before she did? Those were questions that she couldn't answer.

She realized that she had starting walking at some point in that silent revelation and now she was standing behind McCoy. The man who could answer. He was sitting on the shore, about 2 feet from the water, watching the Golden Gate bridge. Alex sat down beside him without looking directly at him and said without pretense, "I have feelings for Jim."

"I know." He answered simply.

She turned to him, flustered and frustrated all at once. "_You_ _know_? Why didn't you tell me?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm a doctor not a psychiatrist." He looked sad, but a little relieved at the same time. She wasn't sure why.

"You could have said something!" She wasn't truly angry with him, but if he had said something earlier, shook her out of her own denial, things would be easier right now. He just shrugged at her.

Alex sighed. "We have to talk about this."

"All right look, I'll give you this one conversation to talk about it ok? Because of last night, and because you're you. But after that you can't tell anybody I did it. I have a reputation to maintain." He gave her a wry smile. _Sense of humor is a good sign_. Alex glanced over at the water for a second while she gathered her thoughts. There were several shuttles traveling across the sky. The distant sound of the city's daily activities filled the air. She took in a deep breath, smelling the water and the trees around her. It had rained the night before and she could still smell the dampness on the leaves. It had been so long since she'd just sat outside and taken in her surroundings. Alex shook herself, _why am I so scatter brained today?_

"Deal. Straight forward and to the point? Not worried about hurting each other's feelings?" She asked.

"You gonna break my heart girl?" He replied, putting on a hurt face. It was her turn to raise an eyebrow at him. She knew she hadn't pegged him wrong, that he wasn't expecting this to go anywhere romantically. His heart wasn't hers to break. "Yeah all right. You start."

She rolled her eyes, but jumped right in anyways. "You didn't take advantage of me last night. I needed you, and I think you needed me too. And it was amazing." He grinned slightly at that comment. "But I don't think either of us wants it to go further than that?"

"Agreed." McCoy glanced at his hands. His shoulders were stiff and he seemed extremely uncomfortable. She noticed he'd somehow managed to smooth his hair down so he looked as professional as he would have on a 'normal' day. "And I don't think we should tell Jim about it."

"Because I have feelings for him? I agree we shouldn't tell him, but I really don't think anything will happen with Jim and I. So this doesn't jeopardize that." She meant that. She was entirely sure Jim did not harbour the same feelings she did.

"Why would you think that?" He looked perplexed. "Jim has fe-I mean, no, I don't think we should tell him because I don't want to jeopardize our relationship. The friendship the 3 of us have." She stared at him.

"What were you going to say about Jim?" But she already knew. _Jim has feelings for you too_. But that didn't make sense.

McCoy shifted uncomfortably. "I'm really not a psychiatrist. But if either of you would let yourselves look for it you'd see it. Everyone else does."

She gaped at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, you don't feel like you're in Jim's league because he's such a-well he's such a playboy. And he dates tons of girls and he's so talented and his future is so bright." Bones paused for a moment, seriously contemplating.

"I don't see how this is helping..." she said darkly. He held up a hand giving her the signal to give him a moment.

"BUT Jim doesn't feel like he's in your league because _you're_ so talented and have such a bright future which is _why_ he's out datin' all those girls. You two both think less of yourselves and it's standin' in the way of actually recognizin' that you _are_ in the same league. And no one else can compete with that." Bones shoulder's sagged slightly, as if a weight had settled on them despite the calm look in his eyes.

Alex frowned, searching his features for a moment, choosing to ignore for a moment what he'd said in terms of what it meant for herself and Jim. "Do you want to be able to compete?" She asked softly, watching his reaction carefully.

"What?" He looked truly surprised. "No! I really don't have _those_ feelings for you. No offense."

"Then what is it?"

"It's hard to watch you two tear yourselves up when you're capable of so much. Sometimes I wonder if I'm bringin' you down. Especially after last night, I just..." She understood instantly, and actually let out a laugh. He, in turn, fixed her with his McCoy glare.

"Bones! For crying out loud! _You_ bring _us_ down? We all bring each other up! I mean, you're really messed up most of the time and –"

He cut her off. "I don't see how this is helping."

"BUT," she was smiling. "So are we. The three of us, with our messed up pasts and complicated presents, work so well together. Don't ever feel like you're a burden or a curse. At least, never for me ok? And I'm positive Jim would feel the same."

They stared at each other for a moment, and then at almost the exact same time shook themselves and moved apart slightly.

"This is awkward," Alex mumbled.

"This never happened," Bones growled.

Another moment passed as the tension seemed to rise. Heartfelt conversations were truly not their thing.

"I ought to go make sure Jim isn't crying about me yellin' at him." The doctor stood up and brushed off his pants a bit to enthusiastically.

"Good idea. I'll go see if I can raise my dad on the comms, make sure everything is still ok." They didn't make eye contact, but they both turned to walk back up the shore at the same time and headed back to the campus in silence.

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It was a couple of months later when everything changed. Things had fallen back into their normal rhythm, except for Alex's new knowledge of Jim's potential feelings. It had been extremely difficult at first, because she didn't know how to approach him after the last 3 years of avoiding her emotions. At first she'd be extraordinarily nervous around him. He'd barely noticed, since he'd been ramping up to take the Kobayashi Maru, the unwinnable test for all cadets in their final year. And since it was used normal for her to be jittery around others.

He'd accelerated through his courses he'd caught up to her and they were taking most of their final classes together. If she hadn't have been so wrapped up in the romantic notions of Jim and herself she might have realized that they stood a real chance of joining a crew together, something they had dreamed about in the first months of the academy so long ago.

Her nervousness had faded to a resolve after several glares and actual jabs from McCoy, who had moved from awkward to the 'Get it over with already you idiot!' mentality. So she decided to go for it. She went to his room one night, knowing he'd be in studying after his second failure of the Kobayashi Maru. She'd knocked, but hadn't waited for a response before entering the room. The sight before her had felt like a punch to the gut. Jim was in bed with the Orion girl in their year. It wasn't the first time she'd walked in on such an act, but it was the first time that she'd done it while openly accepting that how she felt about Jim.

Of course, she'd apologized quickly and ran back to the sanctuary of her room where she'd cried for hours. It was only when she went to the bathroom to wash her face that she realized this wasn't who she wanted to be.

"You are a Pike," she'd said to her reflection. "You do not cry over silly things like this. Bones was wrong. If Jim had feelings for you he would not be sleeping with other girls." A lie, something she didn't fully believe but had to cling to because she didn't have to courage to confront him, not anymore. "Jim is your best friend, and you will continue to act as his. Nothing has changed. Nothing has to change. This is enough. And you won't hold it against him because it isn't his fault you became so involved with a fantasy."

And here they were today in Jim's third round of the test. Bones and Alex were both a part of the crew running the simulation with him. Alex was in the role she had been training, Tactical Officer.

"Starfleet command has ordered us to rescue them... Captain," Jim was saying as he turned away from the comms office. _Uhura, right?_ Alex asked herself. She'd be focussing on the read-outs in front of her and had only caught the tail end of the conversation when she'd heard Jim's tone. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that cocky grin of his. Alex really should be paying more attention, but it was the same scenario introduction as last time. At least this time she wasn't distracted by Jim or Bones. The first few months following her father's disastrous mission had been difficult. Dealing with that and her friendship issues had taken their toll on her studies and her focus. Everyone had chalked it up to the scare with her dad, and only Bones knew it was more than. But after the day she'd walked in on Jim she'd given herself a swift kick in the butt. Her grades improved and her performance was starting to catch the eye of the higher officers who would soon be choosing their new crewman from the graduating cadets. Truth be told her distraction at the moment was because she was calculating the power levels that would be necessary to pull off the move she and Sulu had been perfecting for NCC class ships.

Bones called out the incoming ships and Alex pulled her focus to the task at hand. She was also being evaluated during the exercise after all, if not with the same scrutiny that they would be giving 'Captain Kirk'.

"That's ok," Jim responded. That caught Alex's attention and she actually turned to look at him for a moment. _What are you playing at? _The question was clear on her features and when he caught her eye he actually winked at her. She suppressed the sigh of annoyance that threatened to escape.

"That's ok?" McCoy asked without even trying to hide his annoyance.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Jim replied smoothly.

Alex chanced a glance at the viewing booth overhead and they were all staring at Jim with confusion on their faces. _You better know what you're doing..._ He always did, but that didn't stop the worry creeping into her mind.

"Three more Klingon war birds de-cloaking and targeting our ship. I don't suppose this is a problem either?" Bones sounded deeply annoyed at this point. Other members of the crew were turning their heads now, mostly curious or confused. While they had all had encounters with Jim, they weren't going to jump to anger at this point. They didn't have anything riding on this, and she was sure it would become a source of entertainment for most of their classmates.

"They're firing Captain," Alex reported quickly as her screen lit up with warnings and alerts.

"Alert medical to prepare to receive _all_ crew members from the damaged ship," Jim directed Uhura. He was enjoying this entirely too much.

"And how do you expect us to rescue them when we're surrounded by Klingons, _Captain_." Uhura's tone reminded Alex of the fact that Jim had always had an odd fascination with her. Probably because she was one of the few women who could be wooed by him.

"Alert medical," he replied with a level of finality.

"Our ship is being hit." That'd be McCoy again. He was right, her screen was lighting up with warnings. "Shield's at 60%."

"I understand," replied the would-be-captain.

"Well shouldn't we, I dunno, fire back?" McCoy looked directly at her as he questioned Jim. _Yes, yes we should_. She just shook her head helplessly at him. This was going downhill fast. She glanced up at the viewing room and could see looks of annoyance forming there as well. McCoy actually though up his hands and turned back to his screen.

"No." _Is he eating an apple?!_

"Of course not." She could tell that annoyance had turned to barely controlled anger on McCoy's part.

Suddenly all the screens in the room flickered out, and everything seemed to reset. Alex stared wide-eyed at her own screen. The enemy ships no longer had their shields up.

"Arm photons, prepare to fire on the Klingon warbirds," Jim ordered her.

"Yes sir," she replied immediately, surprised that she was barely phased by the turn of events. Of course this was happening, it's Jim Kirk. That boy she'd met so many years ago, so serious and motivated, had grown into a carefree man. Still motivated, but more of a rebel and a troublemaker. It actually hurt a little to realize the transformation. Where had that boy gone? The one who would risk his life for others and didn't mess around? She still acknowledged on some level that it was a defense mechanism, but her ability to accept that and look past it seemed to be waning. She was actually extremely disappointed in him right now, and that shocked her a bit.

"Jim, their shields are still up," Bones reported, his tone quieted somewhat as though he was trying to alert Jim without giving it away. Like he didn't want to point a flaw in the man's commands.

"Are they?" Another bit of his apple. _You cocky son of a-_

"No... they're not," Bones sounded extremely surprised.

"Fire on all enemy ships! One photon each should do, let's not waste ammunition."

"Target locked and acquired on all warbirds. Firing," she replied. The warbirds exploded dutifully on the screen. She could have sworn she heard Jim make a shooting sound behind her.

"All ships destroyed Captain." She traded a look with McCoy, which resulted in both of them rolling their eyes as Jim made a speech about the successful completion of the simulation. She almost found herself grinning along with him, despite her disappointment and anger. _He actually did it._ But then she noticed a very angry –_wait, Vulcan's can't look angry can they?_ – Vulcan watching the display from the viewing booth, and a very bad feeling seeped through her. That could not be good.

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Several hours later they were all called to an emergency assembly. The room was filled with red uniformed cadets, with a small section set aside for graduated officers. In the front of the room was the Academy Council. Alex arrived seconds before the assembly began and took a seat beside Bones so that he separated her from Jim. It was the seat they saved for her, but she preferred it this way anyways. Jim liked to talk during these things and she was past screwing around at school. Things were getting serious now and she planned to become a good officer.

"Alex, where-" She cut Jim off with a pointed glare and a head tip towards the council in front of them. He looked a little hurt but sat back in his seat without another word.

"This session has been called to resolve a troubling matter," Admiral Barnett began. Alex felt her heart skip a beat. The timing of the assembly was too coincidental. This was about Jim. "James T. Kirk step forward."

Her head snapped towards Jim who looked temporarily stunned. Leonard tensed beside her. A second later Jim stood and made his way to the front as the Admiral spoke again.

"Cadet Kirk, evidence has been submitted to this council suggesting that you violated the ethical code of conduct pursuant to regulation 17.43 of the Starfleet Code. Is there anything you care to say before we begin sir?"

Alex's eyes widen. Those were serious charges.

"Yes," Jim replied, and Alex detected a slight tremor in his voice. "I believe I have the right to face my accuser directly." He hands were tight behind his back, and she was glad he wasn't fidgeting so the entire assembly could see.

The Admiral looked over to a Vulcan officer sitting across the way from Alex and Leonard. He stood and straightened his uniform rather precisely before heading down to stand beside Jim.

"Step forward please," The Admiral said as he walked. "This is Commander Spock, one of our most disguised graduates. He's programmed the Kobyashi Maru exam for the last four years." A pause followed as Jim eyes the Commander. "Commander," Admiral Barnett said, effectively passing control to him.

"Cadet Kirk, you somehow managed to install and activate a subroutine in the programming code thereby changing the conditions of the test." Spock didn't look at Jim as he spoke, instead addressing the council before him.

"You're point being?" Jim replied instantly. _Don't play it that way Jim_, she silently begged.

"In academic vernacular, you cheated," the Admiral cut in, clearly not impressed with Jim's response.

Jim glanced at the Admiral and Alex couldn't see his face, but she imagined it was surprised. A murmur swept the crowds. Extremely serious charges.

"Let me ask you something," Jim began, acknowledging the Commander beside him. "That I think we all know the answer to." A comment made slightly under his breath. "The test itself is a cheat, isn't it?"

Alex wasn't sure where he was going with that. No matter what the test was, he _had_ still cheated. And he'd been caught.

"You programmed it to be unwinnable," he continued.

"Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario," Spock answered in a calm, calculated voice, still looking straight ahead.

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios," Kirk countered instantly, this time addressing the council like Spock was.

"Then not only did you violate the rules, you also failed to understand the principle lesson." Now they were addressing each other as the debate grew more personal. Spock was challenging him.

"Please, enlighten me."

"You of all people should know Cadet Kirk, a Captain cannot cheat death." Alex let out a small gasp. There was no anger, no emotion whatsoever in the statement. An argument could be made that as a Vulcan he didn't understand the true meaning behind his words. But Alex could see he knew what he was doing.

Jim faltered, glancing back at his fellow cadets. He was being torn down right in front of them. "I of all people," he repeated, looking down, trying to find composure.

"Your father, Lieutenant George Kirk, assumed command of his vessel before being killed in action did he not?" Spock asked with a tone of innocence. Alex's hands clenched into fists.

"I don't think you like the fact that I beat your test," Jim replied. Alex smiled slightly, proud that he was keeping his cool in spite of such a comment.

"Further more you have failed to divine the purpose of the test," Spock pressed forward. If she wasn't so offended on Jim's behalf Alex might have noticed how evenly matched they were in this debate.

"Enlighten me again," Jim requested, a slight tremor of annoyance finding its way through.

"The purpose is to experience fear." They didn't break eye contact as Spock spoke. "Fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear, and maintain control of one's self and one's crew. This is a quality expected in every Starfleet Captain." Jim deflated slightly, accepting the logic behind Spock's argument. Alex agreed with him too. She'd always understood the test to be more than just about winning, but Jim was too competitive to hear her protests. And look where that had gotten him.

The room fell silent as everyone recognized that Spock had presented his case flawlessly.

Alex's eyes shifted to an officer approaching the bench and hastily speaking to the Admiral. She felt everyone in the room tense at that point. They may not have cared that much about the charges against Kirk, but they all knew for someone to interrupt the session meant high priority.

"We've received a distress call from Vulcan." The room erupted in murmurs and Alex watched Spock's head snap towards the Admiral. "With our primary fleet engaged in the Lorenchian system I hereby order all cadet to report to hanger one immediately. Dismissed."

Everyone rose and Alex felt adrenaline rush through her. The graduating class was about to get out early, and from the sounds of it for a very important mission. Who would attack Vulcan? While she understood the urge to punch them in the face on occasion, she couldn't see any reason to attack the peaceful race. If they had sent out a distress call, it had to be very bad.

Bones and Alex made their way to Kirk who stood looking a little dumbfounded. "Who was that pointy-eared bastard?" He managed to say.

"I don't know... but I like him," Bones said before following the other cadets out. Alex cracked a smile before meeting Jim's gaze. She immediately looked away and followed Bones. She didn't know what to say to him, and right now she couldn't even think about him. She had orders.

She paused and looked over her shoulder to see him hovering awkwardly, obviously confused by her coldness. She sighed inwardly. "Let's go get our orders. Ten bucks says you're on the Enterprise."

He smiled suddenly, "Why would I take that bet when I agree with you?"

They walked together, for a moment forgetting that in the next few hours they would each face more responsibility then they ever had before.

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_Please review! I'd love to hear what you think about the direction this is going._


	8. The Future Begins: Part 1

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing them, but Alex is mine. Several scenes are based on the 2009 Star Trek movie and they are not my own. _

**A/N: **_ Check it out! An update before 2014! So the new movie has spurred me into action and given life back to this muse, as expected. I've again written a bunch for future stuff, but I'm still a little bogged down on the current stuff, which is still taking place during the 2009 movie. I'm trying to be a bit of a perfectionist in getting the dialogue right (and, of course, now that I've said that, I'm sure my mistakes/wrong quotes will become very apparent) so it's slow going. But I will say I'm writing way more than usual, and going to try and post longer chapters. _

_Also, I LOVED ST:ID and can't wait to get into it. _

_Side note, I'm actually not sure what the Starfleet regulations would be for families working together on a starship. I am acting on the fact that it's acceptable given Beverly and Wesley Crusher worked together on the _Enterpise_. But if anyone thinks I've missed the mark, let me know and I'll work on fixing it! _

_Without further delay, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it!_

_Update: Thanks **cflat** for the point about the me vs my in a few spots, no idea how I missed that, but I've fixed it. :)_

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The shuttle bay was a barely organized chaos as officers and cadet rushed around. The cadets were ordered to report the Commanders stationed throughout the bay based on their last name. Alex nodded to McCoy and Kirk as they moved towards the K-O location, and she headed for the P-T section.

Alex's steps faltered, as they usually did, when she passed the Orion girl that Jim was currently sleeping with. She was in an excited conversation with Uhura, and neither noticed that Alex's pace suddenly quickened to get past them. It was an incredibly juvenile reaction, but she wasn't hurting anybody so Alex was able to convince herself that it was acceptable.

She stepped up beside Sulu as names started to sound through the bay. The commanders were assigning posts. Jim, Bones, and herself had always hoped to get an assignment together, but she knew that based on their performance they should end up on the _Enterprise_. And she knew that since her father was the captain of said ship she wasn't likely to get assigned there. It didn't bother her as much as it used to, given recent events maybe some separation would be useful. But then, it wouldn't be a little bit of separation. They would hardly see each other, and there would be that chance that each meeting could be their last.

None of that mattered now. Given the emergency situation the assignments would be completely out their control.

"Hey," she said quietly to Sulu. He was about to reply when her name was called.

"Pike! _USS Enterprise_. And see me afterwards."

Alex froze. That couldn't be right. While families were allowed to work together on starships, it was still frowned upon for a new cadet to work directly under a family member until they had completed the probation period. True, she did have a very successful history with Starfleet that may have been taken into consideration. But the last time she'd spoken to her father they'd agreed she'd be assigned elsewhere to at least start with.

Several other cadets were called while she stared ahead blankly, trying to process the information, and then, "Sulu! _USS Enterprise_. Also see me afterwards."

Sulu glanced at her. "I figured they'd stick us together but on the _Enterprise_? I thought you said you'd requested not to be stationed there?" Alex just shook her head.

"I have no idea what's going on."

They both stayed in place as the crowd dispersed towards their respective shuttles. The Commander approached them, though she already looked distracted as she continually checked her P.A.D and updated information.

"Pike, Sulu, you've been assigned to the _Enterprise_ as the lead tactical officer and helmsman. The currently assigned officers, Likos and McKenna, are both off duty due to a case of lungworms. This replacement has been ordered by Admiral Barnett. Captain Pike is most likely not aware of it, and given the urgency of the situation there is no time ensure he signs the proper paperwork. Please make sure he's aware of the new situation. Here are your papers, and new uniforms will await you when you arrive on the _Enterprise_. Good luck." She turned to leave but Alex stopped her.

"Wait, I –"

"You have your orders, _Lieutenants_." She was very specific with the title. She stopped for a moment, and then added, "Lieutenant Pike, I recognize your relationship with the Captain but I trust you'll do your duty and that it will not be an issue." With that she turned again and walked away.

"Did we just get promoted?" Sulu asked, slightly stunned.

"Yep," she replied, just as surprised as he was. They stood there for another second as cadets rushed around them.

"We should go," he said eventually, still unmoving.

"Yep," she repeated. Another moment passed and they didn't move. Then she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her towards the last departing _Enterprise_ shuttle. They moved inside and split up to take the two remaining seats on board. As it so happened she found herself beside Jim. A very sick, miserable looking Jim.

"What happened to you?" She said immediately, forgetting formalities and the fact McCoy was beside him, meaning they were all headed to the same place, which should have been a wonderful suprise.

"Alex! What are you doing here?" McCoy asked at almost the same time.

"Replacement for sick officer." She explained quickly.

"Jim's on academic suspension. I gave him a vaccine so he'd look sick enough that I could take him on board as a patient." McCoy said, again at the same time that she spoke, though the last part was much quieter and she almost didn't catch it.

"Are you kidding me?!" She was horrified.

"We need him and you know it." McCoy replied with a level of finality. "Also, it's done now," he added, recognizing her expression. She was severely annoyed; it was extremely cocky thinking to assume that one cadet could change the course of events on a starship. But it was indeed done, and she had bigger problems, so there was no point in worrying about it now.

Jim let out a low groan, and Alex realized he was shaking slightly. "I might throw up on you," he said to McCoy. In any other situation Alex might have laughed, her mind taking her back to that first moment on the shuttle three year ago.

Leonard had turned away from them and was staring out the window. "You guys gotta look at this." Jim responded with a grunt and wrapped his arms tighter around himself. He really did look like he was going to throw up.

"Jim, look!" McCoy pulled him closer to the window.

'What?" Jim leaned over, and Alex leaned in as well. She was practically on top of Jim, and she could feel how badly he was shaking. He was also radiating heat like a furnace. She was about to snap at Leonard again for his careless thinking when -

There it was. The _Enterprise_. They were approaching the spaceport and she couldn't take her eyes off it. It was beautiful. The newest ship in the fleet and it _showed_. It was massive and shone brighter than any other ship at the dock. She'd seen pictures, knew the schematics, knew the layout, but to see it in person. _Magnificent_.

"Wow..." Jim muttered as their shuttle went over nose of the ship to loop around to the shuttle bay. Alex could only nod in agreement. The sight of their new ship made everything much more real.

Jim sat back and continued to shake slightly. Alex reached over to grab his hand in sympathy and ran her other hand over his back. He glanced at her and she tried to smile, but she was suddenly overwhelmed with nervousness and fear. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized the look in her eyes. He was obviously having trouble, but still he leaned into her and said in an attempt at a comforting voice, "It's going to be ok. We're ready for this."

She managed a tight smile. "I sure hope so."

At that moment the shuttle landed and she was whisked away in a whirlwind of activity. She lost track of Jim and Bones, but had to assume they knew where they were going. Somehow she was handed a new uniform and instructed to change, and then she found herself headed towards the main deck with Sulu at her side. He was pulling at his collar, looking uncomfortable. She would have chided him if she wasn't constantly pulling her skirt down. Why did they make them so short?

They arrived at their destination, taking a moment to absorb the beauty of the ships command centre. It was the newest technology, and for cadets –_lieutenants_- trained as they were it was amazing. Alex found herself extremely eager sit at her station and get familiar with it. First things first though.

Alex nudged Sulu, who promptly snapped his mouth closed. "Go take your station; I'll inform the Captain of the changes." He nodded and headed forward.

Alex approached the Captain's chair where her father sat reading a P.A.D. and gently passing orders to the crewman around him. He didn't notice her at first, so she stepped into his view and waited patiently.

He looked up after a moment and his eyes widened. She couldn't help but grin at his stunned expression. Captain Pike regained his composure almost immediately.

"Cade-" He stopped himself as he took in her golden uniform and tried again. "Lieutenant? Something I should know?" He raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously.

"Orders should be coming along anytime now sir. I've been promoted and assigned to the _Enterprise_ in place of Likos. Lung Worms. Similar case for previous Cadet Sulu." She paused. "If I had to wager a guess I'd say it seems they didn't have any other more... seasoned officers available." She glanced around and noted that the crewman in the general vicinity weren't paying strict attention so she stepped forward, leaning in closer to her father. "I know this isn't what we'd talked about, but I'm game if you are."

He eyed her for a moment before breaking into a grin that matched her own. "Take you station Lieutenant Pike. And congratulations on the promotion." She gave him a nod of thanks and turned to sit near Sulu and a young boy she hadn't met. Her grin grew as she settled in and began checking levels and reports.

She glanced up as her father greeted a science officer who had just arrived. It was the Vulcan, Spock, who had just, for lack of a more mature phrasing, tattled on Jim. She flinched slightly, instantly realizing that his presence on the ship would complicate things greatly for McCoy and Kirk.

"Ladies and Gentleman, the maiden voyage of our newest flagship deservers more pomp and circumstance then we can afford today. The christening will just have to be our reward for a safe return. Carry on." The Captain took his seat again and hit the main comm. "All decks this is Captain Pike, prepare for immediate departure. Helm, thrusters."

Sulu responded smoothly, "Moorings retracted, Captain. Dock control reports ready. Thrusters fired, separating from space dock." He sounded confident even though she noticed a slight tremor in his hands as he worked the controls. Alex watched the main viewport as the ship slowly turned around to face open space, along with the rest of the fleet.

"The fleet's cleared space dock Captain. All ships ready for warp." Sulu relayed.

"Set course for Vulcan," her father responded, spinning in his chair to face forwards again.

"Aye aye Captain," Sulu replied. "Course laid in."

"Maximum warp. Punch it."

Adrenaline rushed through her. This was it. She was in full control of the tactical response of a real starship about to embark on her first mission. Something she'd been working towards pretty much her whole life. She knew that whatever they were about to face was going to be important, and not a moment for joy and excitement, so she let herself feel it now, before the mission was fully underway.

And that adrenaline abruptly faded when she realized nothing was happening. The rest of the ships jumped to warp speed around them, but they weren't moving. Slowly but surely everyone else on the bridge became aware of this fact and turned their heads to either glance at the Captain, or at the clearly confused helmsman. She cringed inwardly as her father spoke.

"Lieutenant, where's Helmsman McKenna?" He was using his gentle voice, one he used to teach that was filled with patience, but she saw slight exasperation in his eyes. She cringed further.

"He has lungworms sir," Sulu replied, though he was still facing his station. Either in one last attempt to fix the situation, or in order to gather his courage to face the Captain and the rest of the crew, who were now staring openly at him. "He couldn't report to his post." With that he spun around and she was pleasantly surprised to see a calm, professional face addressing their Captain. "I'm Hikaru Sulu."

"And you are a pilot, right?" Pike questioned, never losing eye contact with the not-quite-shaking-recently-promoted cadet in from of him.

"Ah, very much so sir," Sulu replied with a nod. He turned back to his station, but not before shooting her a look that screamed "_help me_" but he didn't look at her long enough to see her response of "_I've got nothin', sorry_". "I'm uh... I'm _not_ sure what's wrong here..."

The Captain shared a look with Commander Spock before asking, with a slight tone of levity, "Is the parking brake on?" He drew out the question and raised his eyebrows at Sulu. Alex knew he wasn't actually annoyed, more so trying to teach Sulu something, but she still wanted to shoot him a glare that told him to leave the poor guy alone.

Sulu actually smiled as he answered, which made Alex take back her thoughts of glaring, "Uh no. I'll figure it out, I just uh-"

Spock had clearly had enough of this exchange. "Have you disengaged the external inertial dampener?"

Sulu seemed to deflate slightly, and took a moment to compose himself before hitting a few settings at his station. "Ready for warp sir."

She glanced back at her father, who wore a smile and it widened slightly when she caught his eye. "Let's punch it."

Before she knew it they were off and settling into warp. The initial excitement she'd felt was background noise now as she re-checked her instruments, ensuring all weapons systems were functioning. Sulu's – _it wasn't a screw-up, I'm not going to call it that_ – mistake had brought everything into focus. This wasn't a game anymore. There were consequences to each of their actions, and she had to give all of her attention to the task at hand.

"Engine's at maximum warp Captain," Sulu reported after a few moments. She shot him a smile and he returned it, looking relieved and embarrassed.

"Russian whiz kid, what's your name? Chenko? Chirpov?" The captain questioned the crewman beside Sulu.

He spun around immediately. "Ensign Chekov, sir. Pavel Andreievich." Alex found she was staring at the kid. He couldn't be more then 18 years old, but he held himself with stature of a seasoned officer. Interesting.

"Fine, Chekov, Pavel Andreievich. Begin ship wide mission broadcast."

"Yes sir, happy to." He replied immediately and turned to his station. "Ensign authorization code nine-five-wictor-wictor-two." The computer shot back a not autherized messaged and Chekov looked annoyed. "Aghhh, ensign authorisation code," he repeated, louder and slower. "Nine-five-wwvvictor-wwvvitcor-two." The computer beeped a positive and he was granted access. He looked pleased before letting out a quick sigh and starting into his message to the ship.

"May I haff your attention please. At twenty-two hundred hours, telemetry detected an anomaly in ze neutral zone. What appeared to be a lightning storm in space. Soon after, Starfleet received a distress signal from ze Wulcan high command. Zat zer planet was experiencing seismic activity. Our mission is to assess the condition of Wulcan and assist in ewacuations if necessary. We should be arriving at Wulcan within zree minutes, thank you for your time." He ended the broadcast with a satisfied smile. Then he turned to look at her, and she realized she was staring again. She smiled warmly at him, hoping he knew it was completely genuine and not at all mocking him. She had a feeling he was the type to be mocked at the academy. He looked at her for a moment more before smiling slightly in return.

"I'm Cadet Alex Pike," she introduced herself. "Lieutenant." She corrected herself quickly. "Sorry, not quite used to that yet."

"Ensign Chekov," he said in reply. "Pleased to meet you Lieutenant Pike." He paused, as though considering asking a question. She wanted to say _call me Alex_ but knew that wasn't appropriate. And while asking to be called Pike may be, it definitely wasn't when anyone asking for Pike would most likely mean the Captain. She'd have to settle for the full 'Lieutenant Pike' or 'Ms. Pike'. Chekov hesitated a moment more before asking, "You have a relation wiz ze Captain?"

It was her turn to hesitate. There was no reason to keep a secret, as anyone who knew her name would know, but she still felt like she shouldn't say it. It wasn't a necessary feeling; Starfleet was known to make exceptions when it came to family, and relationships, when working on a Starship. Those in that situation were of course monitored more closely to assure they performed their duties without distraction. It was more common than one might think, and it certainly wasn't frowned upon by most members of Starfleet.

"He's my dad," she responded after a beat.

"Ah, I see ze resemblance," Chekov replied, flashing her another small smile.

"Really?" She was surprised. Most people didn't comment on any physical traits that she may have taken from her father.

"Yes, in your smile." He looked slightly abashed all of the sudden, as though he shouldn't have spoken. He quickly turned back to his station.

"Thank you Ensign. That's actually very nice to hear." He rewarded her with a nod, but didn't turn around. He was extremely professional, that much was clear. She turned back to her station and was about to run another status check when a commotion distracted her.

"Captain!" _Jim?!_ Alex spun in her chair to see Jim rush onto the bridge, followed closely by Leonard and another cadet she instantly recognized as Uhura.

"Jim! Get back here!" Bones was shouting as he trailed their frantic looking friend. Uhura was shouting as well, and Alex lost track of what everyone was saying. The only thing that stuck out was Jim.

"Captain Pike, sir,we have to stop the ship," he cried out desperately as he skid to a stop in the middle of the bridge. Her father was out of his seat in a heartbeat, looking something close to furious.

"Kirk! How the hell did you get on board the Enterprise?" He questioned, his voice taking a dangerous tone. There were many reasons why he'd be angry, and the foremost was, which in all fairness was bothering Alex as well, his disregard for protocol as he stormed onto the bridge and disrupted everything when they were minutes away from their destination.

"Captain, this man is under the influence of a _severe_ reaction to a vaccine," Bones replied, stepping in front of Jim and holding him back. "He's completely delusional. I take full responsibility," he had raised his voice to speak over Jim who was trying to cut him off. When he finished Jim jumped right in.

"Vulcan is not experiencing a natural disaster; it's being attacked by Romulans." He had said it so quickly Alex was sure she misheard him. He must actually be having a reaction to the vaccine, because that conclusion didn't make any _sense_.

"Romulans," the Captain replied, skepticism clear in his voice. "Cadet Kirk, I think you've had enough attention for one day. McCoy, take him back to medical, we'll have words later." To anyone else that statement would have finished it. The Captain had given orders and they were to be followed. But of course, that didn't stop Jim Kirk.

"Aye Captain," McCoy responded with a nod, and a look of almost relief, until he realized Jim was still trying to push past him. Alex was struck by the look of horror and desperation on Jim's face as he pushed forward.

"Sir, that same anomaly was one you saw – "

"Mr. Kirk," Captain Pike had turned back around, clearly surprised that Jim was still addressing him.

Spock chose that moment to jump in. "Mr. Kirk is not cleared to be aboard this vessel Captain."

"By Starfleet regulation that makes him a stowaway," Spock continued as Jim replied over him. "Look, I get it, you're a great arguer, I'd love to do it again with you soon."

"I can remove the cadet from-" Spock was cut off by an outburst from Jim.

"TRY IT! This cadet is trying to save the bridge." Jim looked ready to punch the Vulcan in front of him, but he only stared him down, his breathing quick and shaking.

"By recommending a full stop mid warp during a rescue mission?" Spock responded in kind. Jim took a breath then promptly proceeded to ignore him and turn back to the Captain.

"It's not a rescue mission, listen to me, it's an attack." Alex's blood ran cold, because she believed him. He seemed so sure that she couldn't believe anything else.

"Based on what facts?" Spock didn't exactly sound angry or annoyed, but given that he was Vulcan she shouldn't be able to discern any emotion from him.

The bridge fell quiet as they waited for Jim to responded, obviously as taken with his confidence as she was.

"That same anomaly, a lightning storm in space that we saw today, also occurred on the day of my birth. Before a _Romulan_ ship attacked the _U.S.S. Kelvin_. You know that sir, I read your dissertation." Jim had been addressed Spock, rather angrily, but turned to the Captain to verify his point was getting through. Her father turned his head, considering the information. "That ship which had formidable and advanced weaponry was never seen or heard from again. _Kelvin_ attacked a place on the edge of Klingon space and at twenty-three hundred hours last night, there was an attack. Forty-seven Klingon warbirds destroyed by Romulans sir. It was reported that the Romulans were in one ship. One massive ship." Alex's blood turned to ice at that point. His argument was completely logical when based on that information.

Her father obviously didn't harbour the same trust she did, because he asked, "And you know of this Klingon attack how?"

Jim turned to stare at Uhura, his gaze followed by Spock and the Captain. She stared at Jim for a moment before speaking. "Sir, I intercepted and translated the message myself. Kirk's report is accurate."

"We're warping into a trap sir. The Romulans are waiting for us, I promise you that." Jim's voice held pure steel and confidence.

Captain Pike turned to Spock for his opinion. "The cadet's logic is sound," Spock said, without giving the expected impression that it hurt him to admit it. "And Lieutenant Uhura is unmatched in xenolinguistics, we would be wise to accept her conclusion."

"Scan Vulcan space, check for any transmissions in Romulan," the Captain ordered, addressing the communications officer.

"Sir, I'm not sure I can distinguish the Romulan language from Vulcan," the officer replied, correctly admitting what some might see as a weakness immediately, instead of wasting time. He'd been trained well.

The Captain turned to Uhura. "What about you? Do you speak Romulan? Cadet-"

"Uhura," she responded. "All three dialects sir."

"Uhura. Relieve the lieutenant."

She took a deep breath, obviously drawing in strength and composure, and nodded. "Yes sir."

"Hannity, hail the _U.S.S. Truman_."

"All the other ships are out of warp sir, and have arrive at Vulcan, but we seem to have lost all contact," Hannity replied, glancing up with a worried look.

"Sir, I pick up no Romulan transmission, or transmission of any kind in the area," Uhura added.

"That's because they're being attacked," Jim stated with a level of finality. Everyone paused and stared at him, coming to the same conclusion.

"Shields up, red alert," Pike said calmly, taking his seat in the Captain's chair once more. Everyone spun back to their stations. Alex entered the commands to alert the rest of the ship and Chekov readied the shields.

"Arrival at Vulcan in five seconds," Sulu announced, hands steady on the controls in front of him. Alex found herself holding her breath as she stared at the viewport. "Four-three-two-"

They came out of warp into a field of debris, and the entire bridge erupted into gasps and shouts of surprise.

"Emergency evasive!" Pike ordered. Other shouts of status and commands filled the bridge as everyone did their part. It wasn't enough, and they hit the starship –_oh my god they are destroyed starships_ – closest to them, throwing everyone to the side. She kept hold of her seat and righted herself immediately.

The _Enterprise_ shook violently as the hit more debris, but an answer to the Captain stated that deflector shields were holding. Sulu was manoeuvring them as best he could, as her father ordered changes in their course.

Half a Starfleet vessel floated ahead of them, looking frightfully dead in space due to the lack of lights or any signs of activity. "Drop us underneath them Sulu."

Sulu responded with a look of concentration as he angled the _Enterprise_ underneath the damaged ship. Alex would have nightmares about the scene before her, ships torn to shreds, bleeding out into open space, parts of the ships and their crew.

They almost made it underneath, but Alex clearly head the thunder of one of the nasals scraping the ship above them. And then they were past it, in from of them was the largest and darkest looking ship Alex had ever seen. It had tendrils everywhere, curving forwards to give it a seed like shape. It sent shivers up her spine, seemingly giving off a sensation of pure darkness.

"Captain, they're locking torpedoes," Spock declared, pulling her back to reality.

"Divert all auxiliary power from port nasals to forward shields," the Captain ordered as the ship in front of them fired on them. The first torpedoes barely missed their nose, but the next ones hit their mark on the ship below them. _The medical bays_, Alex thought in horror as the ship rocked with the force of the hit.

"Status report!"

"Shields at thirty-two percent! Their weapons are powerful sir, we can't take another hit like that!" Sulu responded, his hands flying over the controls. Alex's hands moved quickly over her own controls, as she diverted power from damaged laser canons and torpedo bays, preparing to launch a counter attack if – _when , _she thought, a level of vengeance creeping into her veins – the Captain ordered it.

"Get me Starfleet command," Pike said in response.

"Captain," Spock replied, his voice steady but she knew it was going to be bad news. "The Romulan ship has lowered some kind of high energy pulse device into the Vulcan atmosphere. It's signal appears to be blocking our communications and transporter abilities."

Her father barely gave him time to finish before ordering, "All power to forward shields, prepare to fire all weapons."

"Aye Captain," she confirmed the order, and watched as her station lit up with green lights as crew members below loaded the torpedo tubes. She turned her head slightly to watch the Captain out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the order to fire.

Suddenly Uhura jumped up. "Captain, we're being hailed."

Suddenly a Romulan appeared onscreen, taking a second to adjust the camera on his face. "Hello," he said, extremely casually but with a matching level of confidence. Just the way he said that one word terrified Alex. He was too calm after the devastation that had just occurred.

"I'm Captain Christopher Pike, to whom am I speaking?" Her father answered with his own matched confidence, but she knew it was from years of training and experience. There was no way he was calm on the inside.

"Hi Christopher, I'm Nero," Nero responded with a nod of greeting. Alex grit her teeth, forcing herself to not glance backwards and look for Jim or Bones. She had no way of knowing if she was visible onscreen, and this wasn't the time to share looks or thoughts.

"You've declared war against the federation. Withdraw, I'll agree to arrange a conference with Romulan Leadership at a neutral location." The Captain said, appearing un-fazed by the Romulan's casual greeting. _He won't agree to that, he can blow us out of the sky any second_, Alex thought, terror gripping her. But then, he hadn't yet. She doubted he'd stopped to say hello to the other ships he'd destroyed, so what was happening now?

"I do not speak for the empire," Nero cut in. "We stand apart." He tilted his head slightly, suddenly looking towards where Spock and Jim were. "As does your Vulcan crew member, isn't that right Spock?" Everyone turned to look at Spock as he rose, confusion slight on his features. Several thoughts rushed threw her head, some of which were _so he can see the whole bridge_ and _HOW DOES HE KNOW SPOCK?_

"Pardon me, I do not believe that you and I are acquainted," Spock replied, ever the Vulcan with his polite response.

"Oh we're not... not yet." That left everyone in a confused silence. Nero took the opportunity to continue. "Spock, there is something I would like you to see." He didn't elaborate, and Alex did glace back this time, seeing Spock with his eyebrows a tiny bit furrowed and tilt his head slightly in question, and catching a moment of Jim looking severely agitated behind him.

"Captain Pike, your transporter has been disabled. As you can see from the rest of your armada, you have no choice. You will man a shuttle and come aboard the _Narada_ for negotiations."

_No_.

Nero signed off and everyone turned to the Captain for his response. Alex's fingers still hovered over the weapons console, ready to fire at any moment. She itched to do it, in order to exact justice and to stop what she knew was about to happen. Her dad would go to that ship. And he probably wouldn't come back.

She knew she was right when he rose from his chair, looking determined.

"He'll kill you, you know that," Jim said quietly.

"You're survival is unlikely," Spock said in the same tone, agreeing with Jim. When her father didn't immediately respond, Jim tried again.

"Captain, we gain nothing by diplomacy. Going over to that ship is a mistake."

Spock seemed to have the same need, as he added, "I too agree, you should rethink your strategy." Alex was surprised at how they could both have the same meaning, but use entirely different words. It showed the immense difference between the Vulcan and her friend. At the same time, she was grateful that they both spoke up, saying what she couldn't in her position.

"I understand that," was all Captain Pike said in acknowledgment of their pleas. "I need officers who've been trained in hand to hand combat."

Alex's heat skipped a beat and she met eyes with Sulu. She nodded slightly, and he raised his hand. "I have training sir."

Alex turned back towards the Captain and raised her own hand. "I do as well."

Her dad seemed to hesitate for a second, eying them both. "Come with me," he said in a grim tone a beat later. "Kirk, you too, you're not supposed to be here anyways." Alex rose and followed the group of men off the bridge.

"Chekov, you have the conn," her father ordered as he stepped onto the life.

"Ay-Aye Captain," she heard Chekov respond before the door slid shut behind her.

As they walked, obviously heading to the shuttle bay, Jim fell back towards her for a second. "What are you doing?" He asked his tone sharp and accusing.

"What?" She wasn't sure what he meant.

"Advanced hand to hand combat?" He sounded frustrated. "I know you've got some training from when you were a kid, but I think the Captain was asking for something more than that."

She actually came close to growling at him, anger at his accusation leaking through before she could contain it. "First off Jim, the Captain is well aware of my abilities, so if he thinks they are acceptable, then it shouldn't even be a question from you. And second, ever since that bar fight in our first semester I've been taking classes. Sulu and I graduated from the advanced class together. If you weren't so _busy_ – " the word came out as a snarl, and she surprised herself with the level of venom in it. This wasn't the time or place to get into _that_ problem. "- you might have known that."

He looked taken aback. "I didn't-"

"I know you didn't," she cut him off with a sigh, regaining some semblance of control. "Sorry, stressful situation. Let's just leave it at I've got your back." She avoided meeting his eyes, trying to regain her composure. Maybe there was some truth in not working with family. If she couldn't even keep it together with the minor situation of drama, how was she supposed to make the hard choices? Especially given that her father was about to fly into the lion's den. She gave herself a mental slap. _You are better than this Pike_.

She could feel Jim's eyes on her, and he seemed to want to say more, but the Captain started speaking.

"Without transporters we can't beam off the ship, we can't assist Vulcan, we can't do our job. Mr. Kirk, Mr. Sulu, Ms. Pike, Engineer Olson, will space jump from the shuttle. You will land on that machine they lowered into the atmosphere that's scrambling our gear, you'll get inside, you'll disable it, then you'll beam back to the ship. Mr. Spock, I'm leaving you in command of the _Enterprise_. Once we have transport ability, communications back up, you'll contact Starfleet, report what the hell is going on here. And if all else fails, fall back, rendezvous with the fleet in the Laurentian System. Kirk, I'm promoting you to first officer," her father rattled off orders quickly and efficiently, not bothering to add any words that weren't completely necessary. She watched him with admiration and pride, before her eyes widened and she realized his last command.

"What?" Jim said, shocked.

"Captain?" Spock cut in, sounding equally shocked and somewhat annoyed. "Please, I apologize, the complexities of human pranks escape me." She stared at the Captain, knowing full well he wasn't joking. He'd once confessed to her how much faith and hope he had in Jim, saying he'd one day make a fine Captain just like his father. Of course, as he got to know Jim a little better through Alex, his opinion had changed subtly. Still, the move to promote Jim wasn't completely out of left field. Though it was entirely unorthodox.

"It's not a prank Spock," her father replied calmly. "And I'm not the Captain, you are." Spock just stared at him, clearly trying to process what Pike meant. "Let's go," her father ordered, moving into the lift in front of them. Jim actually gave Spock a small smile of triumph, and Alex sighed with annoyance as she brushed past him and into the lift.

"Sir after we knock out that drill, what happens to you?" Jim asked as he followed her. _Excellent question_.

"Well, I guess you'll have to come and get me," Pike replied in an off-handed matter. "Careful with the ship Spock, she's brand new." And then the lift slid shut. Seconds later it opened again and they were headed into the shuttle bay. Several crew members were already waiting with space suits for them, Engineer Olson included. _When did he order down to get the suits?_ Alex thought as she pulled on a golden suit, matching Sulu. Jim seemed to have only a blue option, probably because he wasn't actually on the ships roster, so he had to take whatever fit him. Engineer Olson was chatting in a rather animated matter with another red-shirted crewmember about the charges he carried.

As she adjusted her collar she glanced up and shared eye contact with her father. Her breathing had quickened in the last few moments and she was already sweating in the suit, both from the heat and from nerves. He looked at her with slight smile, and at that moment it all clicked into place. She was going to do this, she was going to play her role and be a good officer, to make him proud. She was not going to dwell on what might happen to him, or what the future would hold for her personally if anything did. Right now, and until it was safe or it was responsible not to be, she was Lieutenant Pike. She had a duty to the _Enterprise_, its crew, and the people of Vulcan. They would all come first and foremost. It wasn't a question of whether she could ignore her worry for her father, or her feelings for Jim, or her insecurities about her current friendships. They didn't exist in her current reality. She was a Starfleet officer, all that mattered was the mission.

As the revelation struck her, it filled her with strength and confidence. She returned his smile with a grin of her own, fierce and calm. His smile grew to mirror hers, and she saw relief and pride in his eyes. This was who he needed her to be.

Once everyone was ready the loaded onto the shuttle. Alex could here orders and flight preparation from the front of the small shuttle as her father took the pilots seat. The rest of them filed into the back and got seated to wait for takeoff.

"You brought the charges right?" Jim asked Olson. He seemed worried, and she noticed the three men were also covered in a sheen of sweat. Everyone was nervous.

"Oh yeah!" Olson replied, excitement filling his voice. "Can't wait to kick some Romulan ass, right?"

"Yeah," Jim replied, mostly to placate the man.

"Hell yeah," Olson replied, practically bouncing in his seat. Alex eyed him, a flash of foreboding crossed her mind. He seemed too... volatile.

They all fell silent as the shuttle left the bay and circle around to head for Nero's ship. Then Jim seemed to get an idea, and turned to Sulu and herself. "So, what kind of training do you have?"

"Fencing," Sulu replied with proud smile. Alex found herself grinning too, when Jim just stared at him with his mouth opened.

"Pre-jump," her father ordered. They all began to pull on their helmets and check their suits on last time. The doors to the cockpit slid shut, in order to keep it sealed off from open space.

"Gentleman, and lady, we're approaching the drop zone. You have one shot to land on that platform. They may have defenses, so pull your shoot as late as possible."

Alex grabbed the handle in front of her, gripping it tightly and trying to control her breathing. This was it. An exercise she'd done in simulations, but never in reality. Fear tinged adrenaline soared through her.

"Three... two... one." Suddenly they were slammed upwards, pulled onto the ceiling in preparation for the drop. "Remember, the _Enterprise_ won't be able to beam you back until you turn off that drill." Pike paused, and Alex found herself holding her breathe. "Good luck."

And then the floor gave way and they were plummeting towards the surface of Vulcan.

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_So what do you think?_

_I was on the fence about how to add Alex into the movie, because on one hand I want to preserve what the movie did with the existing characters and not toss an OC in to mix it up and do all the right things and seem totally perfect in the scenarios (hindsight is 20/20!). On the other hand, it would be kinda boring if she just sat back and watched events unfold. I'm trying to walk the line and keep it exciting while staying true to the movie. So I decided to have Alex jump right in! (Hahaha...haha...ha... get it? :P)_


	9. The Future Begins: Part 2

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing them, but Alex is mine. Several scenes are based on the 2009 Star Trek movie and they are not my own. _

**A/N: **_ Wow guys, I know I keep apologizing for the awful delay in these updates, but I really am sorry. I mentioned it in the last chapter, but I was having trouble integrating Alex into the, so I've kind of just decided to plow through it. I've got a few more chapters pretty much ready to go after this one, so expect something new in the next couple of weeks! _

_Anyways, here's the latest! I hope you like it. It does follow the movie pretty closely, but just know there is a lot more to come once Nero is out of the way!_

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It was one of the most intense experiences she'd ever had, dropping at such a speed towards a planet's surface. At first, everything seemed to be silent, as her body struggled to process everything she was sensing. Then she felt the extreme pressure of the speed as they entered the atmosphere. The suit did its job in blocking out most of the force, wind, and heat, but she could still feel how unnatural falling like this was. Her breathe came out in short gasps, and she let out a grunt of pain and effort. She heard the others, and the _Enterprise_, over her comms, but at the moment all she could focus on was her own breathing and trying not to freak out.

She triggered the air break flap on her suit for a second, in order to pull back from the three men. Mainly because they couldn't all land at once and she wouldn't make it to the platform first, given her position. And she had to admit, because she didn't want to be the first to attempt the landing. As she dropped back, they all started reporting their distance to the platform. The pressure seemed to have lessened at this point, giving her the ability to think more clearly.

As they reached 3000 metres, Sulu cried, "Pulling chute!" and proceeded to do so. Jim followed suit a second later, and Alex pulled hers immediately, still making sure she was well above them.

As her chute caught the wind, she realized Olson hadn't pulled his suit yet. Jim and Sulu were calling out to him, ordering him to do it.

"No, not yet! Not yet," Olson replied as he passed 1500 metres to the platform. He let out a cry of excitement. "One thousand metres!" And then he pulled the cord on his suit. It was too late. His chute didn't catch the wind in time, and he hit the platform at an incredible speed. She heard him cry out in pain, and suddenly he was gone from her sight, tumbling below the platform.

"NO!" She cried, hearing similar responses from Sulu and Kirk.

"O-Olson is gone sir!" She heard Chekov say faintly over the comms. Alex could only stare, as she was still too far from the platform to do anything else. She shook her head violently as she noticed how close Jim was to landing. She'd have time to process what had just happened later.

Jim landed on the platform with more control then Olson had, but still with a fair amount of speed as the wind caught his chute and seemed to pull him sideways. He cried out as he began to skid over the platform's surface, towards the opposite edge.

"JIM!" She screamed, horror stricken. But before he reached the edge, he found a grip and stalled his movement. His chute was still caught in the wind, pulling on him. He grunted with pain and effort, but managed to hit the button to pull the chute back in. It worked, and he collapsed onto the platform. Alex sighed in relief as she continued to control her own decent. That sigh was followed with a sharp intake of breathe when she saw a hatch open and a Romulan climb on to the platform. Jim saw him too, and charged him without hesitation. Alex mentally kicked herself, Sulu was nearing the platform but she was still a ways off. She had pulled her chute too soon.

Then a phasor blast whipped passed her and she screamed in surprise, realizing that as Jim grappled with the Romulan, his phasor rifle had gone off. She stared downwards as it ripped into Sulu's yellow chute, throwing him off course and causing him to lose altitude far quicker then he'd planned. She could hear him gasping in fear and effort, as he tried to correct his course.

"Pull it to the left Sulu!" She cried. "HARD LEFT!" She could see with the rips the chute was leaning right, away from the platform. He was spinning and flailing wildly, and she held her breathe as he neared the platform. She chanced a glance at Jim, and noticed another Romulan had climbed up and Jim was fighting them both, using his helmet as a weapon.

Then she saw Sulu's chute catch on the platform, and he was flung down towards the underside of the platform, where the energy beam was still fully operational. "SULU!" She screamed, her heart racing.

Relief flooded her a second later as she saw him slide up onto the platform, having hit the button to pull his chute in. Her eyes widened in horror as one of the platform's exhaust vents activated, right along Sulu's path. But he managed to get a grip like Jim had, and in a quick round of thinking, pulled his sword and cut the ropes, stopping his advancement.

She grinned as she watched him stand and engage another Romulan. That was when she felt a sharp pull, and her downward movement stopped as she was swung wildly to the left. She jerked her head upwards, and saw her own yellow chute had been caught on the rigging leading up to the Romulan ship.

"Damn it," she growled, cursing herself for not paying more attention to her own flight path. She looked down, ignoring the men fighting and judging her distance. She was still at least 30 metres up, too far to jump without risking tumbling over the edge. She'd have to climb down. She pulled at her chute, testing it to see if she could yank it free. It didn't seem likely, and she didn't have the time to try. So she pulled out her own sword, and like Sulu had down a moment ago, sliced through the ropes. Then she began to climb down as quickly as she could while keeping a good grip on the rig.

She glanced downwards again, checking the situation of her crewmates. She noticed a third Romulan climbing out of a hatched, headed for Jim. Jim couldn't see him, but the Romulan was pausing to aim a phasor rifle directly at his back.

Without thinking, she re-activated her sword and flung it at the offending Romulan. The sword struck home, though a little more to the left then she'd been aiming, and the Romulan let out a strangled cry and sank to his knees. Jim spun around, taking in the downed Romulan, and then shooting a look up at her. For a split second he smiled at her before turning back to his original attacker.

Alex didn't hesitate, and continue to climb down. The next time she looked back, she was met with the heart-stopping sight of Jim hanging over the edge and the Romulan attempting to loosen his grip with a well placed stomp of his foot. From her position she couldn't do much, but she knew she needed to get to him as soon as possible. She was still higher then she would have chosen to jump down, but she didn't have a choice. She let go and fell, hitting the platform hard. Her right foot got caught in divot, so when she rolled to absorb the impact, her ankle twisted and pain shot up her leg like a lightning bold. She ignored it, ripping off her helmet and grabbed for the rifle that was close to her. Alex leveled it at the Romulan who was trying to rid the platform of one Jim Kirk.

"Hey!" She shouted, and he spun around. She fired the weapon, but missed completely, a combination of a gust of wind and her own lack of stability. She swore and moved to fire again as the Romulan turned back to Jim, dismissing her as a threat. This time he made a connection with Jim's hand, and she heard him scream in pain. That's when she noticed a golden blur run up and stab the Romulan through the back.

She breathed yet another sigh of relief as the Romulan fell and Sulu started to pull Jim back on to the platform.

Then, as though this mission wasn't already chaotic enough, another Romulan climbed out of the hatch and headed directly for her. Sulu was still occupied with Jim, she was on her own for the moment. She rose to her feet, forcing herself to ignore the flash of pain in from her ankle, and aimed the rifle again. The Romulan paused, and she smiled grimly as she pulled the trigger.

Unfortunately, instead of shooting her target like it was supposed to, the weapon malfunctioned and spit sparks at her. She threw it down in surprise and stared at the Romulan as he advanced again, chuckling. He moved quickly, aiming to strike her face, but she dodged around him and rolled, coming to her feet again beside the first Romulan she'd taken out. Quickly, she grabbed the hilt of her sword and yanked it free, just in time to parry an attack from the Romulan. He'd pulled out his own weapon, a long knife with a serrated edge.

He attacked her savagely, and she managed to keep up the defensive, pulling on all of her knowledge from her training. She even struck one or two glancing blows to his arms, but he wasn't at all thrown off. He continued to push her, until she made the wrong move, placing all her weight on her wounded ankle in order to pivot away. It gave out, and she found herself on her back, looking up at the blade of her opponent.

Before he could move to strike her, three phasor blasts struck him in the chest, and he toppled over, dead. She glanced backwards in surprise, to see Jim with a rifle in his hands, looking extremely outraged at the dead Romulan.

"Alex?" Jim called, as she struggled to her feet. She nearly fell again when she put weight on her right foot so she leaned against the platform, breathing hard through the pain. She managed to give Jim a thumbs up to show she was generally all right. He nodded, as Sulu yelled, "Olson had the charges!"

"I know!" Jim replied, looking around the platform.

"What do we do?" Sulu asked as Jim picked up another weapon and tossed it to Sulu.

"This!" Jim aimed the weapon at the centre of the rigging. They both fired and the rigging erupted into a plume of smoke and sparks. She fell to her knees as it shook, and continued to scoot until she was a safer distance away.

She felt it as the device stopped working, and everything shuttered to an eerie silence. The two men turned to her, and they all shared a relieved look. It was short lived, adding to the roller coaster that this mission had become, as they noticed a device speed passed them, heading for the centre of the planet. Jim and Sulu ran to the edge to see, but she stayed where she was, the plain in her ankle becoming more intense.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_, they just launched something at the planet, through the hole they just drilled," Jim reported through his comm. "Do you copy _Enterprise_?"

Someone from the crew reported the affirmative, and they waited a beat. Jim glanced over at her, his expression worried. "You ok?" He shouted over the wind.

She nodded. He watched her a second longer before returning the nod with a look of satisfaction and hit his communicator to the _Enterprise _once more. "Kirk to _Enterprise_, beam us out of here!"

"Standby, locking on your signal," came a calm reply over the comms. Alex smiled in relief as Jim moved passed her to examine the damage they'd just inflicted on the drill. She wanted to get off this wretched device and back onto the ship. While it hadn't crossed her mind during the confrontation, now she had time to worry about her father and whatever was happening to Vulcan. She needed to get back up there and back into the action.

Suddenly the platform shifted violently, and she watched as Jim was thrown to his knees. She dimly heard a crew member telling them not to move, but she was too focused on Jim's look of terror to hear it fully. She followed his gaze only to see another flash of gold as Sulu stumbled off the platform.

"SULU!" Jim yelled at the same time that she screamed. Suddenly Jim was running by her and jumping off the platform without a word or a glance in her direction.

Sheer shock overtook her and she stopped breathing for a second, horrified. Then logic pushed its way into her fuzzy brain and reminded her that Jim still had his chute. If he could reach Sulu, there was a chance they could both land safely. She barely had time to come to the conclusion and start breathing again when a familiar gold and silver light surrounded her and she was instantly sitting on a transport pad looking at several red-shirted crewman.

"_Kirk to _Enterprise_, we're falling without a chute! Beam us up_!" Jim's voice crackled over her communicator, sounding surprisingly calm despite the fact that he was yelling.

Alex shot the woman manning the controls a look as she struggled to clear the platform. Another crewman moved forward to help her, and she heard him put a call into medical as he realized she was injured. She barely spared him a glace as she stared at the woman trying to save Jim and Sulu's lives.

"I'm trying, I can't lock onto your signal. You're moving too fast," she sounded desperate as her hands flew over the controls.

"_BEAM US UP!_" Jim's voice had fear in it now, and Alex could do nothing but watch.

Suddenly Chekov was flying into the room, all energy and excitement. "I can do zat! Giw me manual control, I can lock on!" He none to gently pushed the woman out of the way and went to work on the controls. Alex could only watch, fascinated and terrified.

"_Enterprise, where are you?!_" Kirk's voice filled the room.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on!" Chekov chanted as he worked the controls.

"_Now, now, now! Do it now! Now, now, now, now!_"

"Ok, ok, ok, hold on, hold on! Compensating gravitational pull, annnnnnnnnd GOTCHA!"

The pad lit up and suddenly Jim and Sulu were crashing into it, still holding some of the speed from their fall. Chekov let out a cry of triumph in Russian, and Alex just let out a breathless laugh as her adrenaline finally had a chance to fade.

The two men on the platform slowly began to move, obviously hurting from the fall and the fight. She heard Sulu thank Jim, and couldn't help the ridiculous smile that was stuck on her face as relief coursed through her.

Then Spock was there, pulling on a weapons belt. "Clear the pad, I'm being to the surface."

"The surface of what?" Jim asked, confused as he stumbled off the pad. "Wait, you're going down there? Are you nuts?! Spock you can't do that!"

Spock ignored him completely. "Energize!" He ordered, and Chekov complied.

"Spock!" Jim cried, but he was already gone. Jim spun around to Chekov. "What's happening to the planet?"

Chekov hesitated for a moment, seeming to rein in his initial excitement at saving the two men. "They have created a black hole at ze centre of ze planet. It will be consumed in minute's sir."

"What?!" Alex and Jim cried at once. Chekov shook his head helplessly.

"Captain Spock has gone down to rescue the elders," Chekov explained.

"This is crazy," Jim said, leaning against the terminal.

"And Captain Pike?" Everyone turned to look at Alex as she asked the question, probably because her voice was so quiet and tentative, as if she didn't actually want to ask the question.

"We lost contact with him, and have yet to regain it," Chekov reported, a note of sympathy in his voice. Alex flinched, and looked down, controlling the swirl of emotions that were telling her to cry or jump up and get to command where she could fire everything the _Enterprise_ had at the Romulan ship.

She looked up as a shadow fell over her to see Jim standing in front of her. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't get a chance Bones stormed into the room. She watched his eyes sweep its occupants before landing on her. Jim took a step back to make room as Bones approached and knelt in front of her. "What happened?" he growled, looking annoyed and worried at the same time.

"It's just my ankle," Alex replied, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. She didn't like making him worry.

"Just your ankle huh?" He said, reaching down to poke at it. She hissed in pain and pulled away from him involuntarily.

"It's probably just sprained," she offered, trying to placate him.

"I'll be the judge of that. Let's get you to the med bay." He rose and offered her a hand up. Jim moved to her other side and kept her balanced. She turned to him as Bones pulled her arm over his shoulder in order to support her weight.

"Are you good here?" She asked, knowing that everything around them was collapsing and her ankle was the last thing anyone should be worrying about.

"I've got this. I'll see you soon," he answered, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze and trying to communicate something deeper with his eyes, but she didn't understand. Before she could question him, he was turning back to Chekov and getting more information on the situation.

Bones started to move, supporting her more then she expected. Hopping along was almost easy, as he kept a strong but gentle grip on her forearm.

"I'm sorry about this," he said. "I'd have brought a stretcher, and a team, but things are still pretty chaotic."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry for needing so much attention; it was my slip up that caused this to happen. You've got more important things to worry about."

"Not at all darlin'. You're a member of my crew who's injured. You're at the top of my priority list." Alex couldn't help but disagree with that assessment, but she let it pass.

"What's the situation?"

"Dr. Puri is dead. I'm CMO as it stands at the moment. The medbays's a mess, but Deck 5 seemed to come through the attack with the least damage. That's where we've set up shop for now."

Alex took a moment to breathe through the now throbbing pain in her ankle and process that information, before asking, "If you're CMO, why did you come down personally?"

He shook his head. "When I heard you'd been injured, I just ran up without thinking. What can I say, I'm breakin' all the rules today."

She smiled slightly despite everything, and they hopped along the rest of the way to the medbay in silence.

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The next few hours passed with a whirlwind of activity as the crew of the _Enterprise_ struggled to regroup. There was massive damage to several of the decks. Engineering was already deep into their efforts to assess and fix what they could. The number of crewman injured in the recent events was almost uncountable, and they continued to stream in to medical at varying rates, depending on their conditions. The most severe injuries had been tended to, and now cuts and bruises were being patched up. Alex had stayed after McCoy had wrapped her ankle and done what she could to help triage and assist the nurses. She had low level medical training; though she was nowhere near qualified to do any work on the patients. Jim and Spock had come and gone, each having their own minor injuries tended to.

She and Bones had just been ordered back up to the bridge in order to join in the meeting of the high ranking officers on the ship to assess the situation. They walked through the corridors at a brisk pace, and Alex was pleased that her ankle seemed to hold up. It throbbed with pain, but she was still able to walk. She wasn't out of this fight yet.

_This fight_... What were they even fighting? She hadn't had a chance to fully process what had happened, but she knew one very solid thing. Vulcan was gone. And with it, the majority of the Vulcan species. It was a reality too horrible to fully comprehend, and to her at the moment it was more of a fact, like the sky being blue, then something she needed to emotionally digest. She didn't know that many Vulcan's, and she certainly wasn't close with one, but that didn't stop the massive ache building in her chest at the loss of such a proud and intelligent race. You wouldn't be able to tell from looking at the Vulcan elders on board that anything so heinous had occurred, but she'd seen Spock. And while his face held the same passive look of serenity as the other Vulcan's, his eyes said something else entirely. When she'd seen him in medical, he's had a faraway look. Like he was completely and utterly lost. He didn't acknowledge the medical staff as they looked him over. Instead he just sat still, staring at nothing. He wasn't processing or calculating or planning. He was just... lost.

She'd learned what had happened to his mother a few minutes after he and Jim had entered the med bay, and the look had taken on a whole new meaning. She knew what it was like to lose a parent, though she had been very young. To see it happen right in front of you and be unable to stop it? Her heart went out to the man who hours earlier she'd wanted to physically harm for turning Jim in to the Academy council.

She'd seen Chekov briefly as well, and he looked entirely defeated. The poor kid, having to live with knowing he'd been the one thing standing between Spock and his mother. Alex had taken a few moments to review the logs from the event, and she knew without a doubt there was nothing the ensign could have done to save her. She'd told him just that, and he seemed to listen to her, but only a little. He had still looked far too young and vulnerable when he'd left for command.

She and Bones entered command and she slid into her seat beside Chekov, after it had been vacated by her stand-in from what should have been the Beta shift if they weren't in the middle of a crisis.

"Have you confirmed that Nero is heading for Earth?" Spock was asking Uhura, his voice and demeanour both calm. It would be difficult to look at him now and realize he'd just been though hell.

"Their trajectory suggests no other destination Captain," Uhura replied dutifully. Alex saw something in her gaze that she couldn't quiet identify. Something close to worry and sadness, which wouldn't be unusual in the circumstances, but the emotions were aimed directly at Spock. Maybe the whisper of a rumor that Alex had heard about the two of them was true? _Or maybe she's just showing compassion to their current Captain and you should focus Pike_.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Spock replied without looking back at her.

"Earth may be his next stop," Jim said, from his position in the Captain's chair. "But we have to assume every Federation planet's a target." Bones stood over Jim's shoulder, listening intently.

"Out of the chair," Spock ordered a slight undercurrent of a scolding echoing in his tone. Jim rose immediately, looking unhappy and rolling his eyes, and moved to pace the bridge. The empty chair stirred the bone deep worry that Alex was trying her best to ignore. She didn't know where her father was, or if he was even still alive. All she knew was that he'd want her to keep doing her duty. At least, until an opportunity presented itself for her to do something else.

"Well if ze federation is ze target, why didn't zey destroy us?" Chekov asked, clearly not agreeing with the idea.

"Why would they? Why waste the weapons? We obvious weren't a threat." Sulu looked tired and dejected. And a little annoyed that the _Enterprise_ really hadn't been a threat to the massive ship.

"That is not it. He said he wanted me to see something; the destruction of my home planet." Spock stood facing the viewport, his hands clasped behind him. But unlike Jim, who's knuckles would probably be white with the force of his grip and his shoulder tense, Spock looked eerily serene, as if they were discussing the weather instead of the loss of his people.

"How the hell did they do that be the way?" Bones jumped in, looking clearly confused and concerned. "Where do the Romulans get that kind of weaponry?"

"The engineering necessary to artificially create a black hole may suggest an answer," Spock replied. "Such technology could be theoretically be manipulated to create a tunnel through space-time."

"Damn it man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" Bones yelled, going beyond frustration to the cusp of anger. "Are you actually suggesting they're from the future?"

"If you eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbably, must be the truth." Spock's eyebrows quirked up at the end of his statement, and she saw for the first time a flash of genuine passion about a topic.

"How poetic," Bones answered, clearly frustrated with the Vulcan.

"Then what would an angry, future Romulan want with Captain Pike?" Jim cut in, still sounding un-impressed with Spock's theory. Alex cringed at her father's name, but turned to Spock expectantly nonetheless, interested to see if he's considered how their captain fit into his growing theory.

"As the Captain, he does know details of Starfleet's defenses," Sulu offered. He met Alex's eyes and looked almost apologetic. She gave him a quick nod to show she was fine.

Jim had clearly had enough of this theoretical discussion. He stepped forward with purpose. "What we need to do is catch up with that ship. Disable it, take it over, and get Pike back." He looked at her as he said the last part, and she realized that she was, at least in part, the thing that was driving him towards such an offense filled plan. She knew him, so she knew that even if Pike wasn't her father he'd want to go to any lengths to get back his Captain. But she also knew that her father and Jim shared some sort of bond after he'd convinced Jim to join Starfleet. All of those reasons seemed to fuel Jim's current agitated state.

"We are technologically outmatched in every way. A rescue attempt would be illogical," Spock countered. While she desperately wanted to side with Jim, she couldn't deny that Spock had a point. They had already failed in a conflict with the Romulans once. But then, she expected that Jim had some scheme up his sleeve to balance the odds this time around.

Chekov chose that moment to speak up, not necessarily choosing a side, but pointing out the issues with Jim's plan. "Nero's ship would haf to drop out of warp for us to owertake him."

"Not to mention the fact that we don't have any way to disable his ship. Our weapons had little affect during the last engagement, and even if we tried something new we'd couldn't be certain it would work," Alex added, feeling guilty for poking holes in Jim's plan but also knowing she was obliged to do just that.

"Then, what about assigning engineering crews to boost our warp yield and our weapons power?" Jim questioned, without looking at her, but Spock cut in.

"Remaining power and crew are being used to repair radiation leaks on the lower decks and damage to sub space communications without which we cannot contact Starfleet." Spock's voice rose to cover Jim trying to cut in.

"There's got to be some way -" Jim tried again.

"We must gather with the rest of Starfleet, to balance the terms of the next engagement," Spock said with finality. Alex wasn't sure she agreed on that. After seeing the devastation that Nero's ship had caused their rescue fleet, she wasn't sure any of their ships could withstand the Romulan vessel.

"There won't be a next engagement! By the time we've gathered it will be too late." Jim looked entirely frustrated, trying to convince the immovable Vulcan of his side. "You say he's from the future, knows what's gonna happen? Then the logical thing is to be unpredictable!"

"You are assuming that Nero knows how events are predicted to unfold. The contrary, Nero's very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the _USS Kelvin_, culminating in the events of today, thereby creating an entire new chain of incidents that cannot be anticipated by either party."

"An alternate realty," Uhura said, stepping into the conversation for the first time.

"Precisely," Spock replied, looking directly at Jim knowing his point had been made. "Whatever our lives might have been if the time continuum was disrupted, our destinies have changed." She couldn't argue with his logic, which shouldn't have surprised her, because it was rare to argue with a Vulcan and win.

Spock sat down in the Captain's chair, clearly indicating he was done with the conversation and that his orders would stand.

"Mr. Sulu, plot a course for the_ Lorenchian_ system, warp factor three."

"Spock, don't do that," Jim said desperately. "Running back to the rest of the fleet for a-," his voice was rising now. "A confab is a massive waste of time!"

"These are the orders issued by Captain Pike when he left the ship," Spock replied, still eerily calm in the face of Jim's rage.

"He also ordered us to go back and get him. Spock, you are Captain now, you have to-"

"I am aware of my responsibilities Mr. Kirk."

"Every second we waste Nero is getting closer to his next target!"

"That is correct, and why I am instructing you to accept that fact that I alone am in command."

"I will not allow us to go backwards-"

"Jim!" Bones tried to cut in, realizing the same thing she did, that this was about to get out of control. She was already rising from her seat, ready to act if need be.

The three men's voice suddenly rose to the point that they were yelling over each other, and tensions on the bridge skyrocketed.

"-run from the problem, instead of hunting Nero down!" Jim's face was red with anger. The rest of the bridge was silent, almost in anticipation. She stared, frozen and completely unsure of what to do. Starfleet code dictated that she back the Captain, but her heart was telling her otherwise.

"Security, escort him out," Spock order, his eyes never leaving Jim but his entire being still cool and collected.

Jim glared at Spock with fiery rage as the two security guards grabbed him by each arm and started to lead them out. He squirmed at first, and Alex assumed it was just out of pride that he didn't want them to handle him. She caught McCoy's eye and he looked just as stunned as she felt.

Then Jim's eyes met hers, and for a moment everything froze. He was looking at her, and she could see hurt in his eyes that she hadn't defended him. That she'd stayed out of the fight, even when the stakes were so high. She averted her eyes, unable to look at him, feeling ashamed. It was very unlike her to not step in, but she couldn't see how she could help. He was the Captain, she was the Lieutenant. There were _rules_. Jim might be willing to break them left and right but after everything she wasn't sure that she could. Rules kept them together, aligned, functioning. They were the only thing that made sense right now. A standard that she could cling too.

If she'd kept looking she would have seem Jim's face flip from hurt to determination, though she wouldn't have known it was because seeing her looking so upset and ashamed had fueled the fire he felt just a bit more. Suddenly he was struggling and punching and fighting his way free of the security crewman.

Before she could react, Spock was striding forward. She dimly heard McCoy yell at Jim to stop before Spock grabbed him at the neck and shoulder and Jim crumpled to the floor. She stared in shock for a moment, it being the first time she's seen a Vulcan nerve pinch in person.

"Get him off this ship." Spock's voice was pure steel as he addressed the security crew.

"Wait!" Alex cried, suddenly finding her voice.

"Lieutenant?" Spock turned to her, suddenly composed and collected again, even though she knew she'd seen rage spark in his eyes just seconds before.

"Where are you sending him? We're in the middle of a mission!" She tried to keep her voice from going to high pitched given her near frantic state.

"I believe there is a nearby planet with a Starfleet base. He will be sent there in an escape pod. He will not be harmed," Spock sounded almost sad at the last point, as though he wouldn't mind if Jim got hurt, just a little. "Those are my orders. Now, unless you or anyone else here would like to join Mr. Kirk, I think we can get on our way."

She stared at him a moment more, extremely tempted to defy him. Where she'd earlier felt sympathy, she again felt the need to punch him in the face. It might be justifiable in the Starfleet code to send Jim off ship, especially after that epic act of insubordination, but it still wasn't the _right_ thing to do, especially given the circumstances.

Unexpectedly she felt Bones' hand grip her elbow. He leaned in and whispered, "He can take care of himself. I'm furious too, but we're more useful here."

Spock watched them, clearly unimpressed. He quirked one eyebrow at her, waiting for her answer.

She sighed. "Yes sir."

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_Thoughts? _


	10. The Future Begins: Part 3

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters or ideas, I'm just borrowing them, but Alex is mine. Several scenes are based on the 2009 Star Trek movie and they are not my own. _

**A/N: **_ See? Update almost within a week! I hope you like it!_

_Thank you so much for all the reviews and support!_

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Before she knew it they were on their way again, having just sent Jim in an escape pod to the nearby ice planet.

"Warp three sir," Sulu reported as the ship settled into warp.

"Course 1-5-1 marked in, Lorenchian system sir," Chekov followed, his voice quiet as he addressed Spock. Captain Spock, she reminded herself. She had to keep doing that so that she didn't get up and attempt to tear his head off. Even though she'd assented to sending Jim off ship, she was already regretting that decision heavily.

"Thank you gentleman," Spock said in that voice that was becoming irritatingly calm.

"You wanted to see me," came a familiar and grumpy voice from behind them. Alex spun in her chair to see McCoy glaring down at the Captain, looking the farthest from pleased that she'd seen him in a while.

"Yes, Doctor," Spock acknowledged. He rose from his seat and they started to walk away when Spock stopped and turned to look directly at her. "Lieutenant, if you would join us?"

She stared at him for half a second before rising from her seat and falling into step with the two men.

"I am aware that James Kirk is a friend of yours," Spock began, addressing them both. "I recognize that supporting me as you did must have been difficult." Alex suppressed the need to throw her hands in the air and shout _obviously!_, and instead allowed McCoy to lead.

"Is that a thank you?" Bones asked, looking annoyed.

"I am simply acknowledging your difficulties," Spock replied, ignoring the sarcasm.

"Well, thanks for that." Alex laid in her own sarcasm, suddenly aware that she'd been spending too much time with Bones.

"Permission to speak freely sir," Bones requested, cutting over her insubordination swiftly.

"I welcome it," Spock replied, while shooting Alex what she could only assume was a warning glance. It was hard to tell because it looked like all his other glances.

"Do you? Ok then... Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" Bones snarled.

Spock's reaction was almost priceless as he looked at McCoy with a quizzical expression.

"Are you making the logical choice, sending Kirk away, probably. But the right one? You know, back home we got a saying, if you're going to ride in the Kentucky derby you don't leave your prized stallion in the stable." McCoy was right in Spock's face at this point, anger making his words sharp.

"A curious metaphor Doctor, as a stallion must first be broken, before it can reach its potential," Spock replied easily. If she didn't know better, and she was pretty sure she did know better, she'd say he was making a joke.

"My god man, you could at least act like it was a hard decision!" Bones looked disgusted and furious.

"I intend to assist in the effort to re-establish communication with Starfleet. However, if crew moral is better served by my roaming the halls weeping, I will gladly defer to your medical expertise." The doors to the bridge hissed open, and Alex turned to see a Vulcan that she understood to be Spock's father step through them. "Excuse me," Spock said, effectively ending the conversation, before she could respond with _yes, that seems like it would help_.

"Green blooded hobgoblin," McCoy muttered under his breath, turning away.

"Is it wrong that I just want to kick him, even after everything that's happened?" Alex questioned, staring after their acting Captain.

"Probably," McCoy replied. "But then, you have been hanging out with Jim and I for quite some time. Doing the wrong thing should be second nature to you by now."

Alex cracked a half smile at him, before her mood sobered again. "Be safe," she whispered, squeezing his arm before heading back to her station.

"You too kid."

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She spent the next few hours resisting the urge to get up and pace. She didn't have much to do since they were at warp, and at this point she'd already checked the weapons systems three times in the last fifteen minutes, which was way more often than regulation stipulated was necessary.

Their communications still hadn't been restored, and Alex was starting to fear the worst. The longer it took to contact Starfleet, the longer they took to get anywhere, the smaller the chance that she'd see her father alive again.

She was brought out of her internal conflict and worry by Chekov alerting the Captain to unauthorized access in one of the turbine sections. She watched with the rest of the crew as Sulu pulled up video of the area.

Alex's heart skipped a beat as she caught a glimpse of blond hair before two men ran off screen. She _knew_ it was Jim and, though she couldn't explain it, she felt a sudden surge of hope and relief. She had no idea how it was possible for him to be back on board, but she had no doubt he'd gone to great lengths to accomplish it. And if he could do that, maybe he could fix this mess they were in.

It was only a few minutes later when security came onto the bridge escorting two men. One was Jim as she thought, and she was pleased that he looked to be in one piece. Usually when he was out of her sight, especially when he was out of McCoy's, he tended to get himself into major trouble. But while she recognized the man before her as her friend, she didn't miss the confident way he held himself, the way he seemed to command attention. It was a state he hadn't been in when he'd last been on the bridge.

Beside him was a man she also recognized, but only because she'd seen the files on the incident with her grandfather's dog. How Jim had met up with Montgomery Scott and found his way back to the _Enterprise_ was a question that begged an answer, and apparently Spock thought the same.

"We are travelling at warp speed. How did you manage to beam aboard this ship?"

"You're the genius, you figure it out," Jim answered smoothly, a cocky and uncooperative look on his face. She stared at him open mouthed. This was an even higher level of insubordination then he'd shown earlier.

"As acting Captain of this vessel I order you to answer the question," Spock commanded. Alex was pretty sure that fact wasn't going to get him anywhere, not after what he'd just done to Jim.

"Well I'm not telling, _acting _Captain," Jim returned. "What now, that doesn't frustrate you now does it? My lack of cooperation, that doesn't make you angry?" Alex had no idea where he was going with this, but the manner at which he addressed Spock was clearly an antagonizing one. He was attempting to get a rise out of Spock.

Spock apparently wasn't in the mood to play this game, so he turned to Scott. "Are you a member of Starfleet?"

"Um... yes. Can I get a towel please?" Scott was soaked with water, a fact Alex cataloged in the back of her mind for later.

"Under penalty of court marshal I order you to explain to me how you were able to beam aboard this ship well moving at warp."

"Well-" Scott started to explain.

"Don't answer him," Jim cut him off, his eyes never leaving Spock's.

"_You will answer me_," Spock ordered, leaning forward.

Scott seemed to consider for a moment, and despite the slightly aggressive Vulcan in front of him, did the admirable thing. "I'd rather no take sides."

Jim seemed to take this as the moment to step in and enact whatever plan was spinning through his head. "What is it with you Spock?" He asked, getting right into the Captain's space. "Your planet was just destroyed, your mother murdered, and you're not even upset?"

Alex found herself rising from her chair without thinking, a spark of anger igniting within her. No matter what Jim's plan was, he had no right to ask those kind of questions. He of all people should know not to ask that question.

"If you are presuming that these experiences in any way impede my ability to command this ship you are mistaken." Spock seemed completed unmoved by the comments, whereas Alex would have already been motivated to physical violence.

"And yet you were the one who said fear was necessary for command. Did you see his ship? Do you see what he did?"

"Yes, of course I did." Spock's voice softened slightly, a crack in the barrier.

"So are you afraid or aren't you?"

"I will not allow you to lecture me about the merits of emotion."

"Then why don't you stop me?"

"Step away from me Mr. Kirk." Jim didn't listen, instead plunging forward. Alex found herself suddenly near the two men, sensing that this wasn't going to end well, though she had no idea what she could do to stop it.

"What is it like not to feel anger? Or heartbreak? Or the need to stop at nothing to avenge the woman who gave birth to you?"

"Back away from me."

"You feel nothing! It must not even compute for you. You never loved her!"

Everything froze as Spock let out a primal scream and plunged forward, hitting Jim square in the mouth. Before anyone knew it they were spinning around the bridge, trading blow for blow. Everyone stood frozen in horror, unable to act or stop the fight. If they were thinking like she was, it was because they were hesitant to step in and defend Jim after he'd said such terrible things. But Alex knew Jim, she knew he wouldn't say those things normally. He had been pushing for something, and she expected that this was it.

They were suddenly spinning over Alex's station and settling onto Sulu's. Spock had his hand around Jim's neck, choking the life out of him. Jim was struggling weakly as he chocked and gasped for air. Somewhere in the back of her mind the fact that Vulcan's were much stronger then human's flashed by, and she was abruptly terrified. He would kill him.

"Stop!" Alex started to run forward, unsure of what to do and unsure why no one else was acting. Everyone was looking at each other uncertainly, as though the expected the other to take action. She reached out to pull Spock back, only to be shoved away roughly. He didn't even look at her, but used his free hand send her back several paces. She stumbled into Sulu, who caught her smoothly but had a stunned look on his face. Then a loud and commanding voice split through the silence.

"Spock!"

She spun and stared as Spock's father watched his son choking the life out of another man. It took another moment, but Spock finally pulled back, giving Jim the space to breathe.

She was entranced by Spock as he seemed to reconnect with himself, gathering his calm and composure. He looked to his father, and the only sound that could be heard on the bridge was Jim's laboured breathing. Alex moved forward to support Jim as he sat up and Spock walked away from them.

"Doctor I am no longer... fit for duty. I hereby relinquish my command based on the fact that I have been... emotionally compromised. Please note the time and date in the ships log."

Spock then exited the bridge, his father following after taking a moment to survey the _Enterprise_'s command crew. His expression was unreadable, but Alex understood his discontent with the situation.

Everyone stood in stunned silence. There was no standard on how to react after an event like that, and no one seemed to know what to do.

"I like this ship!" Scott's voice rang through the stillness, surprising everyone. "You know, it's exciting!" He smiled, trying to convey his meaning, but was almost entirely ignored.

"Well, congratulations Jim, we've got no Captain and no god damn first officer to replace him." Bones looked angry and Alex could see disappointment in Jim in his eyes. He, like everyone else on the bridge, had no idea what had just happened.

Jim took a second to catch his breath, leaning into her as she supported him. "Yeah we do," he finally said, the whispers of a grin spreading over his face. He looked relieved and triumphant.

He gave her a smile and a nod of thanks before stepping away from her and heading for the Captain's chair.

"What?" Bones asked, clearly at a loss. Alex knew though, and Sulu voiced her thoughts.

"Pike made him first officer," Sulu replied, looking a little shocked.

"I can confirm that," Alex seconded, watching Jim with curiosity. He wouldn't have just done all of this to get in the Captain's seat. He really did have a plan.

"You gotta be kidding me," Bones said incredulously.

"Thanks for the support," was Jim's sarcastic response as he settled into the chair.

Uhura moved up beside him, looking displeased. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, _Captain_."

"So do I," Jim responded, and for a moment he looked like the vulnerable and young cadet that he was.

The look passed, and Jim began to make his first address to the crew as Captain of the _Enterprise_. "Attention crew of the _Enterprise_, this is James Kirk. Mr. Spock has resigned commission and advanced me to acting captain. I know you were all expecting to regroup with the fleet, but I'm ordering a pursuit course of the enemy ship to Earth. I want all departments and battle stations ready in ten minutes. Either we're going down, or they are. Kirk out."

For another moment everyone stood staring at the new Captain, they're faces showing uncertainty. The switch of leader and change of plans had happened in the space of five minutes, and everyone was still processing. Alex couldn't even imagine what the rest of the crew, who hadn't been privy to Spock and Kirk's showdown, thought of the sudden changes. Sensing they needed a push, she moved quickly to her station, which was fortunately intact even after having a Vulcan-thrown human smash into it, and scanned the screens, before reporting, "Weapon's systems are green, Captain. We're ready for anything that comes at us." Her voice carried a tone of confidence with an edge excitement, which seemed to spur the rest of the bridge crew into action. Status reports were suddenly being reported from all parts of the ship.

She glanced back at Jim and he shot her a grateful look before focusing on the results coming at him.

A few minutes later, once things had settled, she rose from her seat and approached the chair, hoping for a slightly private conversation.

"Lieutenant?" Jim said, a slight smile pulling at the side of him mouth, obviously enjoying being able to address her in such a matter.

"Captain," she returned with a nod of her head, keeping her hands clasped behind her back and her stance upright. "A word?"

"Of course," he stood and closed the space between them so they could speak quietly. She could see the wounds around his eye from their foray on the drilling platform had calmed slightly but they were still red and painful looking. That would be soon complimented by the marks around his throat that she could all ready see forming where Spock had gripped him. She also noticed that he'd taken off the bandage around his hand, and she was sure it wasn't because it was feeling better. He was clenching and unclenching it almost subconsciously, and she could see the small sparks of pain in his eyes as he moved.

"Are you ok?" She asked quietly, her eyes roaming the rest of his body in concern.

"I'm fine," he replied, with his usual Kirk stubbornness. At least that was expected.

"You're going to fill me in on how the hell you got back here right?" Changing the subject because she knew he wasn't going to budge on the subject of his health.

"It's a long story, and probably requires a beer or three, but yeah, if we get out of this I'll tell you everything," he answered. Alex chose to ignore his _if we get out of this_ comment.

Her hand found its way to his shoulder without her specifically asking it to do so. Disregarding all her mixed feelings these past few months and her decision to keep him as a distance, she let the relief and happiness of actually feeling him alive and well flow through her. "I am really glad you're ok. And really glad you're here." She tried to stop the burning in the back of her eyes.

He returned her grip, smiling reassuringly. "We're going to fix this. We're going to save Earth, and we're going to save your dad."

"How can you know that?" Her voice was broken, the mention of her dad cracking the barriers she'd worked so hard to maintain.

"You trust me right?"

"Of course."

"Good, cause I've got a plan." His grin was slightly crazed and she found her face stretching to match it, despite her next comment.

"Not sure I'm going to like where this is going."

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Before Alex knew it they were set to enact Jim's plan. And as it turned out, she really didn't like it, which she told him as they hurried down the hall to the transporter room.

"It's going to work," he said firmly, nodding at some crewman as they sped by.

"It _might_ work. But it _will_ put you in considerable danger. I don't like it," she replied, keeping pace with him.

"You already said that. It's happening Alex. Sulu is getting us into position now. It's the best way to stop Nero and save Earth. And your dad. I'm doing this." They reached the transporter room and she grabbed his arm to stop him from going in.

"I should be going with you," she practically begged.

"You will be more help here. I trust you behind our weapons, and the smaller our boarding party, the better chance that we aren't noticed. This is the way it's going to happen. Now give me a kiss for good luck and get back to your station Lieutenant," he said with a cocky grin, motioning to his lips.

"You wish," she replied, rolling her eyes. However, she did lean forward on her tip toes and kiss him on the cheek. "Good luck," she whispered.

He moved away before she could see his reaction, and she knew it was because they were out of time.

"How are we Scotty?" He questioned their newest crew member, who wore the red colors of engineering.

"Unbelievably sir, the ship is in position," Scott reported back.

Jim leaned in and hit to comm button to the bridge, watching her steadily as he spoke. "Whatever happens Mr. Sulu, Miss Pike, if you think you have the tactical advantage you fire on that ship. Even if we're still on board. That's an order."

A moment passed before Sulu responded, and in that moment she looked back at Jim, matching his control.

"_Yes sir_," Sulu finally responded, sounded defeated and unhappy.

"Yes sir," Alex echoed, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Otherwise we'll contact the _Enterprise_ when we're ready to be beamed back," Jim finished, forcing a smile of confidence for her benefit.

"_Good luck_," came Sulu's voice.

She returned Jim's smile and turned to head back to the bridge, but did a double take when Uhura and Spock caught her eye. They were definitely kissing. Definitely.

"Interesting..." she muttered to herself before running back to her post.

She slid into her seat moments before the _Narada_ began their attack.

"Zey have actiwated the drill," Chekov reported, his hands working quickly to manage the data before him.

"Damn it, it's right over San Francisco," Alex growled, tension on the bridge rising as they all realized how close it was to the academy.

Uhura flew onto the bridge seconds later. "Communications and transport are inoperative," she reported. "Sulu, please tell me you have them, otherwise we won't be able to beam them back."

The helmsman slammed his hand down in frustration. "Kirk and Spock are on their own now."

Alex tried to remind herself that Jim was capable of anything, and they could do this, but she felt her hope dwindling as the minutes passed. She kept a close eye on her instruments, almost vibrating with apprehension, as she waited for their moment to act.

"A ship just blew its way out of the _Narada_!" Sulu suddenly exclaimed.

"It is wery small, I do not recognize the make," Chekov replied.

"It's gotta be Spock or Kirk," Alex added, her apprehension spiking to real stress as she watched the readings. The ship went straight for the drilling device and fired.

She along with the rest of the bridge crew let out a cheer of triumph when the drill took a direct hit.

"Uhura! Do we have communications? Transport?" She called out, swivelling in her chair to connect with the communications officer.

"Both are back up and functioning! They did it!" She reported back, her face stretching into a smile.

"All right, let's look at getting them back on board. Mr. Scott, can you locate the Captain and Mr. Spock? Uhura, can we confirm they are ready to beam out?" Sulu questioned, already beginning to pilot the ship towards Earth.

Before either could reply, the smaller ship on their radar jumped into warp, narrowly escaping several missiles fired its way, followed seconds later by the _Narada_.

"Sulu, we need to –" she started.

"I'm on it! Going to warp, Chekov get me a destination!"

She tuned them out momentarily as she started to activate their weapons systems. She needed to be ready when they got out of warp.

"Leaving warp in three..." Sulu reported. They were close enough in those last seconds for her to get readings on the two ships they were chasing. Her eyes widened as she realized the smaller ship was on a suicide run, and the larger had fired several missiles at the oncoming shop.

"Chekov!" She cried, hoping he saw what she did and knew what she intended.

He did. Together they triggered all of their offensive systems as they came out of warp, and destroyed the missiles before they could reach their intended target, leaving a clear path.

Moments later she heard the words she'd been waiting desperately to hear. "_Enterprise_ now!" Jim's voice echoed through their systems, and she heard Scott's affirmative.

They all waited, barely breathing, for the confirmation that their Captain had made it on board.

"_Three successfully transported!_" came Scott's report. Alex slumped back in her chair in utter relief. She hadn't fully let herself realize how tense she was until that moment. _They're safe_.

Moments later Spock and Jim came running on to the bridge.

"Captain! The enemy ship is lozing power, zer shields are down sir," Chekov reported dutifully.

"Hail them now," Jim ordered, his face clear of emotion as he moved to stand in front of the view port, Spock at his side.

The feeling of relief Alex felt at seeing Jim safe was instantly replaced with fear when she looked at the readings on her station again.

"What is that?" She questioned, not fully understanding. He was staring out at the viewport in front of them, at the _Narada _where small explosions that were beginning around the area of impact from the small ship.

"The red matter... is igniting," Chekov said softly, his voice holding awe.

She watched as a black hole suddenly ripped through the ship, effectively cutting it in half, though she had no way to see the state of the other side. The rest of the crew seemed relieved still, in the knowledge that they had won. But she couldn't help the filling of unease that was creeping over her.

"Sulu, we need to –" she started, throwing him a worried glance.

"I'm trying to maintain a safe distance," he replied through gritted teeth.

At the moment the view screen lit up with Nero's face.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the _USS Enterprise_. Your ship is compromised. You're too close to the singularity to survive without assistance, which we are willing to provide." She felt a flash of pride at his professional tone and offer. After everything that had happened, she wasn't sure she'd have the control to offer such help.

She watched as Spock turned to hold a private conversation with Jim. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but was surprised at the look they shared. She couldn't decipher it, but it was something of an understanding shared between them.

"I would rather suffer the end of _Romulus_ a thousand times. I would rather die in _agony_ then accept assistance from you," Nero replied, his voice dripping with anger and disdain.

"You got it," Jim replied swiftly, turning away. The view screen flickered out to reveal the black hole expanding before them.

"Lieutenant Pike, arm phasers, fire everything we've got," Jim order before taking his seat in the Captain's chair.

"Yes sir!" She replied, and triggered the commands to do just that. At her command, the _Enterprise_ lashed out at the _Narada_ with everything she had, firing phasers and torpedoes into the massive ship. Each hit stuck it's mark, slowing tear the _Narada_ to pieces. The long tentacle like parts of the ship, a well know image from their history, seemed to snap apart and fly into the black hole. Their attack hastened the process, and within seconds all of the terrifying ship had been engulfed by the singularity.

She couldn't help but glance back at Jim, who was staring at the event intently. He didn't look triumphant, but she saw something in his eyes, in the way he was so entirely focused. It meant something very important that he'd just destroyed the ship that had taken his father from him.

Alarm bells started ringing, pulling her own focus back to her instruments. The gravity well from the singularity was pulling them in.

"Sulu, let's go home!" Their Captain demanded.

"Yes sir!" Sulu responded, and she saw his jaw clench as her began to steer the ship around. The feeling of dread began screaming in the back of her mind. They were too close. She'd thought they were a safe distance away, but the hole had expanded faster and larger than any of them had thought possible.

"Why aren't we at warp?" Kirk questioned, calm and controlled as he should be.

"We _are _sir," Chekov replied. Alex met Jim's eyes and shook her head. They didn't have enough power.

"Kirk to engineering, get us out of here Scotty!"

"_You bet your ass Captain!_" Came Scott's frenzied reply. "_Captain we're got in a gravity well, it's got us!_"

"Go to maximum warp! Push it!"

"_I'm giving her all she's got Captain!"_

The ceiling suddenly cracked above them as the ship fought against the pull of the singularity. Several of the crew members cried out in surprise and fear. At this rate they'd be torn to pieces just like the _Narada_.

"All she's got isn't good enough! What else you got?"

"_Um, ok,aye if we eject the core and detonate it, the blast could be enough to push us away, I cannae promise anything though!_"

The viewport in front of them suddenly cracked and they all watched in horror.

"DO IT DO IT DO IT!" Jim screamed, echoing the urgency and fear felt by the entire crew.

The ejections read successful on her screen and for a tense moment all they could do was wait. Then the detonation occurred, and they were flung back in their seats. Alex gripped her seat and stopped breathing as she waited for them to break free. She trusted Sulu to pilot them out, but she feared the blast wouldn't be enough.

Her fears were dashed when they suddenly pulled free, speeding away from the explosion and singularity. For a moment they all sat frozen, unable to believe or comprehend how closely they had brushed death.

Then they all began to breathe a sigh of relief and several laughs and smiles filled the bridge. Alex realized she'd been clutching Chekov's hand up until that exact moment. She met his eyes and saw her own relief reflected in his eyes. Despite the fact that they barely knew each other, she was in no way embarrassed by their contact. She squeezed his hand briefly, and then ran her hands over her face and through her hair as she laughed quietly, her eyes almost burning with tears of relief.

Seconds later Jim made an announcement to the rest of the crew, explaining what had occurred and their current status. Alex could only imagine their level of worry and panic, not having been privy to the information that they were.

"Sulu, how long until we arrive back at Earth?" Jim asked as he finished his address.

"At our current speed, and without warp, it looks like close to 23 hours Captain."

"Uhura, do we have communications with Earth?" Was Jim's next question as he took in the information.

"Negative Captain, our long range communications are still under repair."

"Understood. Please keep on them and send a hail to Starfleet as soon as possible."

"Aye Captain," Uhura responded, turning back to her station. Alex wasn't surprised that her voice held true sincerity and respect. Jim had just proven himself entirely capable of his current position.

Jim continued to check in with each of the department, gather information and status reports. Now that they were out of danger, and they'd all had a chance to catch their breath, their excitement was dimming as they each checked their respective departments and reported the damages and prepared to start repairs. And Alex was eager to get a status on her father, but there were more important things to take care of. If he was in a serious condition she trusted Jim would have her relieved.

An hour passed and Alex kept glancing back at Jim, because he looked worse and worse each time she did. He was still in command, and still making orders and listening to reports, but she could tell he was in pain. She had no idea what had happened on the _Narada_ but she knew he'd taken a beating.

She rose from her station and approached him. He glanced up at her, his eyes clear and bright despite his otherwise haggard appearance. She'd already given her status report, so he knew she was there for other reasons.

"Lieutenant, I can have you relieved if you'd like to go to medbay and check in on the Captain," he said, entirely professional. She got the sense that he already knew she had a dual motive for approaching him.

"Thank you Captain, I think I'll take you up on that," she replied, equally as professional but a bit absently. She was distracted by assessing his condition up close. She could see fresh bruising on his neck, something more then what Spock had done to him she was sure. And his face showed fresh wounds, along with his own knuckles. She was surprised to find herself aching to reach out and grab his hand, to try and heal his hurts.

"I think you should come with me," she said after a moment.

"I'm fine," he said tightly, already preparing himself to fight her on the subject. He was always like this when it came to seeking medical attention. Even if it was McCoy that he was visiting.

"You're bleeding," she replied, eyeing his various wounds.

"It's fine, I'm needed here," he looked like he was about to turn away so she reached out and grabbed his arm, keeping him faced towards her.

"Since you're the Captain, I'm sure it'll be a quick trip," she reasoned. "They'll fix you up right away sir." As she spoke she caught Spock approaching from his station, clearly having noticed her physical contact with the Captain and the dirty look his was giving her in response.

"I'm fine here Lieutenant," he growled, pulled away gently.

"Captain, if I may, I do believe you should accompany the Lieutenant to see a Doctor, as you have many wounds and we have a long journey ahead. Your state of health is important if you are to perform your duties."

"Oh not you too Spock! Why don't you go to medical? You were out there same as me!" Jim looked annoyed now, but Alex ignored him and shot Spock a grateful look. She recognized that he was only doing the logical thing, and not just trying to help her cause, she was still thankful for his assistance.

"I was not injured during our mission. You clearly were. I can stay here, and alert you of any issue that arise."

"I-" He still looked ready to protest again, so Alex took matters into her own hands and rather insubordinately grabbed his hand and dragged him with her towards the nearest door, shouting a "Thanks Commander!" over her shoulder.

"Alex! Come on!" Jim sounded pissed, but he wasn't putting up a fight as she dragged him along, and she knew he could have.

"Just get it over with. Bones'll probably be busy, so you can just get a quick once over from one of the nurses. In and out. You need to look cleaned up for the crew. A bloody and bruised Captain doesn't inspire a ton of confidence."

"Maybe to you," he grumbled, but caught up and kept pace with her. She let his hand go and hit the turbo lift to the med level.

They rode in silence for a moment before Jim said, "So... this was all a bit insane right?"

She laughed slightly. "Understatement."

Another moment of silence passed before she suddenly turned to him. "I didn't say thank you yet, for saving my dad."

"You don't have to," he replied, refusing to meet her eyes.

She grabbed his chin and tilted his face towards her. "I really do. Thank you Jim. I don't know what I'd do without him, and you saved him. _Thank you._"

He looked a bit uncomfortable with her level of sincerity, but flashed hera grin in spite of it.

"Now come on, let's go see-" she stopped midsentence as they rounded the corner into the medbay and were met with a heart stopping sight. She had expected to see her father, alive and well, chatting with the nurses and getting updates on the ships status. She was met with the opposite circumstance.

Her father lay on one of the beds, and looked like a ghost of himself. He was unconscious, and had been intubated. There was a nurse hovering beside his bed taking readings and looking entirely too anxious for Alex's liking. Bones stood in a heated discussion with another doctor, gesturing angrily towards her father's bed.

She stood frozen, unsure how to comprehend what was happening. He was supposed to be ok. They'd hadn't told her he wasn't ok. Now he looked like he was dying. She barely registering Jim's hand as it gripped her shoulder tightly.

"Bones?"

(ST) (ST) (ST) (ST) (ST) (ST) (ST) (ST) (ST) (ST)

_Sorry guys, bit of a cliffie. I promise I've almost got the next part ready to go so I'll update very soon! Stay tuned in the next week or two!_


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